Hatters chief executive Gary Sweet is hoping Nathan Jones’ successor will be in place by next week and says it’s an opportunity for them to lead Luton into the Premier League.
Sweet admitted that the club has been “tracking” potential suitors for three years and revelled that a “well-known” football agent has told him that Luton is “sexy project” for managers.
He confirmed that the one type of manager that isn’t in Luton’s sights is a manager that’s “maybe been around the block a little bit,”
Here’s everything Sweet said about Jones’ high-profile move this week to Premier League Southampton and what happens next for the Hatters.
With his take on this week’s events and the departure of Jones for a second time, Sweet said:
“We’ve been quite transparent with the proceedings, I think clearly we knew a little bit before we made the announcement at the beginning of the week, we had the weekend with that knowledge, as always with these things because they’re private and Nathan wanted to have a private conversation with Southampton about that position.
“We wanted to keep some stability and keep it out of the press, but there were some leaks on the south coast, unfortunately, so we had to respond and let people know that we had given him permission to talk to Southampton and we arranged for that to be on the Wednesday as you’re thick into preparation for a game.
“We had a good chat with the players, they were OK with that and there was a good chance from Wednesday that things wouldn’t necessarily be resolved and he would be back taking Saturday’s game as well, so we didn’t really have too much of a choice on the Tuesday.
“Frankly, on the Tuesday right until Thursday midnight, Nathan was a Luton Town employee, but actually, we all felt, that Mick (Harford) and everyone here that everyone was up for the Tuesday game and that’s not what lost us it, unfortunately, but it is what it is.
“I think the timing is really good for us and I would like to just say, Southampton whilst they have known that they have wanted to take Nathan for some time, he was their top candidate, they respectfully chose the right time to do that.
“Because it then gave everyone a week to sort things out and then we’ve got a month of preparation to restart the season, so it’s a really good time for us, a good time for them as well, a good time for Nathan and it gives this big man here (Harford) a good game to take on Saturday.
“So, we’ve got no real grumbles. From the outside world, supporters, they can rest assured that everything’s been handled very professionally. I was going to say amicable in these things. Between the two clubs there’s always going it a bit of negotiation shall we say, but we’ve actually got on really well with Southampton, it’s a decent club.
“So, I couldn’t really be more satisfied with the way it’s all gone, despite the fact that sometimes when it gets out to the public domain, there’s lots of rumours that get out and people assume things that frankly aren’t true.
“And I think that maybe (people) might think is we lost the game on Tuesday because Nathan took it, but that’s certainly not the case, we lost the game because we weren’t as good as Stoke.”
Jones leaves Luton as the third longest-serving manager (303 games) in the club’s history having joined them in 2016 in League Two and kick-starting their rise up the Football League. Asked about the Welshman’s tenure, Sweet said:
“(It’s) wonderful, over 300 games, a win percentage of knocking on the door of half of those.
“It’s a fantastic record and, without putting any pressure on the next manager coming in, it’s a hard act to follow and it’s the end of an era.
“He goes absolutely with our best wishes, I think everybody should have Southampton as a soft second team, I don’t really do second teams myself, but actually there is a little Brucey bonus if they stay up for a couple of seasons.
“So, certainly our accounts office will be Southampton fans for a little while.
“So, please, I don’t want anyone to have any kind of malice at all on Southampton or Nathan, or indeed Alan and Chris, who if you look at it in the cold light of day, I can absolutely see why all of them have taken this opportunity. They go 100 per cent with our support and our blessing, and we wish them well.”
Asked about the compensation of £2.5million that has been reported to prise Jones away from Luton, Sweet said:
“I’ll be honest, I’ve been so busy over the last few days I haven’t seen any media, haven’t seen anything.
“You know what we are like, there are two parties involved, in fact more that two parties involved and we don’t want to embarrass anyone else.
“So I don’t think I should respond to, but when Nathan came back to us, he really did have a bit of favour to repay and that’s been repaid.”
On the search for a new manager, Sweet said:
“(It’s) well underway. If I can give you some reassurance on that, and with no disrespect to Nathan, as he kind of even knew this was going on, but we’ve been tracking managers for two, three years.
“We actually implement a very similar model to the way we recruit and identify players coming in. We’ve been doing the same thing with managers with regards to the way they play, even some of their character traits, their media presentation, it’s quite important having to deal with you guys (media), but all of these things we’ve been tracking.
“We’ve got really strong due diligence profiles on a lot of people and so we were more than ready when it happened (Jones’ exit).
“That’s not to suggest to anyone that we were expecting this to happen necessarily, but it happens, so why would you not be prepared? Shock horror, manager leaves a football club. It happens.
“So, where we’re really blessed and fortunate is that we’ve got a great team of recruitment staff that do this for players and can do this for managers, so why not, so we’ve been more than ready. We’re in a fantastic position, a very, very well-known and well-respected football agent, who we get on very well with, he said he couldn’t quite believe this, but Luton’s a sexy project now.
“So, you think when clubs are looking for a new manager, it’s usually because clubs get rid of a manager and they’re languishing in the bottom half of the table, probably lower than that.
“We’re in a very, very strong position, so we are a really attractive proposition as we talk to people more about Premier League football than we do about League One, I can assure you and that’s the ambition we’re going to continue and that’s the profile of the person that will take those reins.”
Asked if the search will extend to managers currently in positions, or whether it will be free agents, Sweet said:
“It’s a good time to take somebody out of a club, I’ll be honest. It’s happened to us. Now, we always look to do the right thing, but the wrong thing isn’t necessarily taking a manager out of another club, it’s actually how you do it and the timing.
“So, the timing isn’t bad at all, it gives people a month to replace. We’ve got a good, healthy compensation package coming in, which more than enough compensates for any compensation package we’ve got that we might need to pay out, if it’s another manager at another club.
“That’s still money, so if we have to pay somebody X amount then he’s got to be X amount better than somebody who isn’t attached to a club.
“But we’re looking at all profiles and one of traditional routes is to look at good, strong, well-educated coaches as well, who might not have too much experience in the game.
“We’re also looking at that profile as well, because it’s tried and tested, not just with us. A few people have copied the way we do things and got some success out of it.
“That’s not giving you an idea that we’re going down any particular route, but we’re looking at all three of those categories.
“And the one category we’re probably not looking at is those managers that have got a lot of experience, have a certain way of doing things and maybe been around the block a little bit.
“That’s not our profile, we do want somebody whose a little bit more pliable and will work with the club.
“There’s not a lot to change here, the processes that we’ve got in place, that the club’s put in place, that Nathan followed, are all there.
“We don’t see really those changing, the elements of recruitment, sports science, physiotherapy, all of those supporting facilities, services, that we would provide a manager, broadly won’t change, analytics as well.
“So, we’re really looking for a manager and a coach, and that’s what managers generally like.
“They want to come into an environment that’s actually got good foundations, robust, got a good way of operation. They can come in and not really do an awful lot, other than integrate themselves into the playing squad and keep things ticking along for a little while, until they can really suss things out and see how things go.
“Of course, we want a little bit of change, we always do, but the whole thing doesn’t need breaking up and restructuring like it often does need to happen when manager joins another club anyway.”
Asked if Mick Harford will have a say in the new manager, and whether Nathan Jones had a say in his successor, Sweet said:
“Nathan, no. I think out of respect to him and Southampton he now needs to focus on Southampton.
“Mick, absolutely, front and centre, 100 per cent and literally the second we heard that this was a possibility, we put together a small team of people with good experience inside the club, that’s predominantly from our recruitment team, including myself and Paul Watson, Mick and then Phil Chapple, Jay (Socik) and then engaged with the board on that.
“We started our work and it’s effectively that team that is making selections, short-listing candidates and meeting them.”
Luton play Rotherham tomorrow with Mick Harford taking interim charge to the team, but that will be the last game for a month, as football in the Championship breaks for a month for the controversial first-ever winter World Cup in Qatar. It gives Town an unusual window in which to pick their next manager. Asked about the timeframe for selection, Sweet said:
“The sooner we make an appointment, the more time they’ve got to prepare for when the lads come back. I think that’s really important and really vital. As soon as possible.
“I would hope that if we were to have a press conference this time next week, that it would be done and dusted. There’s no guarantees on that, but that’s what I’m hoping.”
With the departure of such a success manager in Nathan Jones, asked how vital is the decision that he and the manager recruitment team make, Sweet said:
“They’re all vital. When you replace a manager, and we’ve done it a few times, they’re all vital and important.
“But, more than vital, vital sounds like a bit of a scary word, I think it’s a massive opportunity. I think it’s exciting. I genuinely tell you, and with no disrespect to Nathan, Chris and Alan, it is so exciting.
“I think a lot of people here are quite energised by the fact that we’ve got an opportunity here where we can introduce a good football guy to come in and lead us to the Premier League. That is a realistic opportunity.”
From the outset, on Monday, when it was announced that Nathan Jones had been given permission to talk to Southampton, Luton has said that negotiations have been done amicably. And that has led, largely, to a more amenable reaction from supporters, compared to the controversial way in which the manager last left Luton for Stoke in 2019. As about the improved reaction to the Welshman leaving for a second time, Sweet said:
“I’ll be honest, you can tell me what the reaction is. We’ve just really seriously had our heads down and doing the work over the last few days, just looking at the new gaffer.
“I just genuinely hope that the supporters understand that the situation is different this time. It has been.
“I’m sure there’s a lot of speculation. Sometimes, people do want to cause a little bit of mayhem, with rumour and everything, but we’ve been really open and transparent on this one.
“It is different. It is all very respectful. Knowing that Nathan is an ambitious individual that is sought after by other clubs, and is well-respected, we’re not blind to the fact that this was going to come up at some point.
“So, I’m not going to say I’m not disappointed. I’m not surprised. In a way, I’m surprised it’s taken this long, to some extent, but we’re energised, ourselves, by the fact that we’ve now got this opportunity.
“I’ve always said, that whenever anybody leaves the club, whether that’s a player or someone working in retail, or whatever, it’s an opportunity to improve.
“That, by the way, I keep saying to the board, includes me. There’s always an opportunity to improve if somebody leaves, whoever that is.
“It’s our opportunity to select the right candidate and to make sure, not only are we continuing the good work that we’re doing, but that they add to that.”
With managers like former Blackpool boss Neil Critchley among one of the bookmakers’ favourites for the job, asked how many applications for the manager’s role that Luton have received, Sweet said:
“We won’t mention a number because it’s not an ego project. This is just about the quality of candidates, and not the number.”
Assistant manager Chris Cohen and first-team coach Alan Sheehan both joined Southampton with Nathan Jones, and asked if there would be any further staff departures, Sweet said:
“There are restrictions in the contract. When Nathan came back in, we certainly stated that there are certain functions in the club that are club functions.
“A little word on Alan and Chris, they’ve done really well here. They’re good people and they’re moving on to better their careers, at the moment. They might regret it if we pass Southampton in the league table at some point in the future, but they’re going on to good things.
“In a way, if a manager leaves, you almost don’t want him to go on his own, because if you bring a manager in, they always want to bring at least one, maybe two people with them.
People they trust and they’ve worked with begin, to create that bit of harmony, so it’s an ideal position.”
Asked if there were any restrictions on Southampton taking any of Luton’s players, Sweet said:
“They are no different to any other club right now. You can’t restrict movement on players, it would be illegal.
“If they come in in January, it means they have to pay a higher price than any other club, if that is the case.
“And, that isn’t a message out to anywhere saying we have players available for sale in January. Everybody knows what this business is like. If someone offered this football club enough money for me, I would probably sell myself and give the money to the club! The club needs money to carry on but they have to pay more than everybody else.”
Asked if Luton’s next manager will have money to spend on players in the January transfer window, Sweet said:
“Within reason. January is not a window to go and spend money really. We have a model where we don’t necessarily have to spend money to refresh things.
“It’s a defensive window really. Any manager coming in is going to respect the squad here anyway. It needs respecting, they’re good enough to take us up.
“There might be a little bit of a tinker perhaps but it’s not a plan. You have probably noticed over the last couple of years that the recruitment side of the business has come closer to the club rather than the old, traditional way of the manager picking and choosing and maybe even doing the deals.
“That is certainly something we’re more in control of and the manager coming in will work with that and respect it.”
When Nathan Jones last left Luton in 2019, it saw Mick Harford take caretaker charge and guide Town to the League One title. Once in the Championship, the Hatters appointed Graeme Jones, but his tenure didn’t last the season and they parted ways with nine games to go and the club in the drop zone, once the Covid pandemic struck and stopped all football.
Nathan Jones then came back in a surprise return and steered Town to the Great Escape. Asked what he and the club has learned from the last appointment of a different manager, Sweet said:
“There are things I learned differently that I will do today, that’s in my mentality and I think that is the mentality of all of us here.
“This isn’t about Graeme Jones. I’m telling you now, Graeme Jones is a great man, he is a fantastic coach and superb tactician. Sometimes things just don’t work out and I think what we need to do is to recognise from that, where perhaps that didn’t quite gel for us and understand how we can circumnavigate that prior to the appointment this time around.
“It’s not about that particular appointment, we can always go back and look at our mistakes, focus too much on our mistakes, rather than look at what the positive things are. Let’s look at the appointment of Nathan Jones and the appointment of John Still.
“Where we were successful. How did we manage to attract those people? What was it about those individuals that attracted them to our football club and enabled them to integrate fully into what we do here and then lead us? They are the things we’re really focusing on, not the negatives.”
Nathan Jones was a big personality at the club, aside from his managerial qualities, and built a strong rapport with the club and its fans, which has been largely credited as being mutually beneficial. Asked if that is something that the recruitment team can account for when choosing Jones’ successor, Sweet said:
“You can account for it completely. The biggest characteristic the new man is going to have is he’s going to have the right personality for this football club. That he fully buys into and follows similar kind of beliefs, principles, philosophies, ethics, I guess to the one this football club carries.
“What we stand for as a club weren’t Nathan Jones’ principles, they were our principles that Nathan Jones folded into. Many of them were similar to his own, so I think what is right is that we get a good human being, a good guy, who is going to come in and feels at home here. That is really important for him and us. “
