New recruit Cameron Jerome says he was “blown away” by new manager Nathan Jones giving him a presentation to explain his philosophy and convince him to sign for Luton.
The striker had offers from other Championship clubs and abroad after a year spent in League One with Milton Keynes, but he picked the Hatters because of the time and effort the Town boss put in to proving he was wanted.
At 34 years old, Jerome has played most of his career in the Championship and Premier League, but in all his years he never had a meeting quite like the one with Jones.
“Having met Nathan, sat down with him and some of the staff at the club and had a meeting, I was blown away by the idea and the philosophy and the progress the club is making,” said the forward, adding: “That is something I want to be a apart of, something going forward and progressing. That was the big factor in coming down and signing for Luton.”
Talking of his meeting with Jones, Jerome said: “It was quite surprising as I just thought it would be a general conversation. No manager has ever actually given me a presentation throughout my career, so it was quite remarkable that he’s gone to the time and effort to show me certain things, how he operates as a manager, what he demands from a player. He asks you questions about what you want as a player, where you want to go in your career, what you want to achieve.
“This is the club’s DNA, he likes to have your input and your ideas, it was quite remarkable that he went to all that time and effort and had the presentations set up for when I was there, so it was really, really impressive to be honest with you and was one of the key factors that when I walked out of the room, I thought straight away, he was a manager I definitely want to play for.
“When a manager does that for you, it immediately tells me he wants me, he believes in me, he wants me, the club want to invest in me and that’s something as a player gives you that warm feeling, that excitement and that thrill.
“So, when I walked away from there, the minute I walked out of the room with my agent, I said, that’s someone I definitely want to play for so if you can make it happen, let’s get it done.”
Not bad as a testimonial! We have our niggles with Nathan, but we’re lucky to have him really – just as, after the Stoke episode, he’s lucky to have us. Few football supporters will agree with everything their manager does and says – it goes with the territory – but you can’t argue with results. Let’s hope the newcomers – young and old – live up to their billing, and we have a great season. COYH!