Luton Town has confirmed Tottenham Hotspur’s James Redden as their new head of sports science, filling the vacant role left by Jared Roberts-Smith’s who followed former manager Nathan Jones to Stoke in January.
The 30-year-old joined the Premier League club in 2011 on an internship and two years later became assistant first team sports scientist at White Hart Lane, before appointed to the job in five years ago.
Redden told the club’s website: “I’m very excited to get started. From the start of pre-season when it was all agreed, I’ve been desperate to come in and get to work.
“I’ve done pre-season with Tottenham while working my notice, and I’ve had a great time there. It’s been a fantastic place to learn, but it’s been great to finally get here and get stuck in since Monday.
“I met Graeme (Jones) and Gary Sweet a few weeks ago and immediately got a good feel for the club. Obviously the back-to-back promotions have created a terrific atmosphere for everyone, but meeting those two, you get a real feeling that it’s a good honest club, doing things the right way in every respect.
“It is clear there is a very strong bond among the squad and they are a hard-working group. As a sports scientist, that hard work is something you need if you’re going to be effective.”
Elliott Plant and Luke Sanders continue in their roles as strength and conditioning coach and sports scientist respectively.
Redden added: “One big question for me was what was the group going to be like, and what is already in place.
“Coming into a three-man department is great for a Championship club because being a one-man band in sports science is very difficult.
“Luke and Elliott have done brilliantly. The experiences that they’ve had over the past two seasons will have been massive for them, and I’m looking forward to working with them immensely.”
Manager Jones said: “James has come in after a long interview process. I’m delighted to have his experience on board because I think with a good head of sports science, that’s what you pay for.
“James was at Tottenham for eight years. Obviously he’s worked with a lot of managers in that time, so we’ll be able to pick little bits from him. He’s an experienced guy.
“The sports scientists have really got to try and work in hindsight. They’ve got to try and see things before they happen. You have to have experience in order to do that, so that’s what we’ve recruited, but I must say that Elliott and Luke, who I’ve done a whole pre-season with, and touch wood, we’ve had no injuries.
“Our boys are physically fit, which is the challenge. They’ve been magnificent and James will come in and line manage them, but I think we are very fortunate to have three very capable professionals at the football club.
“James impressed me in the interview, but also Richard Evans – who I worked closely with for 11 years at Swansea, Wigan, Everton and Belgium – used to deal with him over Toby Alderweireld, Moussa Dembele and Jan Vertonghen from our Belgium time.
“He always spoke really well about him, so there was a little insight, but it was a fair process and we went for a guy who is very modern in his thinking, but also who’s got excellent experience, so we are delighted to have him on board.”
