New Luton boss Matt Bloomfield believes changing the Hatters’ fortunes is something that he and his team start can do quickly, but accepts that only results will show if he can.
The 40-year-old was officially announced as Rob Edwards’ successor today, after the club parted ways with the man that made history by steering Town to the Premier League for the first time.
But life back in the Championship after being relegated last term, has not been easy. A fourth straight defeat ultimately proved the final straw for Edwards’ tenure, but that also came amid a tenth straight away defeat, which has left Luton two points above the relegation zone.
Town have lost the most amount of games in the division (15) and conceded the second most goals (44) behind bottom club Plymouth. And, at the other end they’ve only managed two goal in their last five games, one of which was a post-Christmas gift from Swansea.
Bloomfield has been prised away from League One promotion candidates Wycombe Wanderers who have outscored every other team in the division, with 50 already to their name.
The new man will now prepare for his first game in charge of the Hatters, when Preston North End come to town on Saturday in the Championship.
On his early task, he said: ”First and foremost we need to do some work on the out-of-possession shape. Our identity, that we’ve been playing with at Wycombe this year is slightly different.
“The (Luton) boys have had an incredible success going up to the Premier League and being out of position the way they have been, but we want to do it slightly different.
“So we’re just trying to imprint that with the boys, try and create some more chances. It’s not rocket science. We want to try and create some more chances and try and tighten up a little bit. But, I’m really respectful of the job that Rob’s done here previously. I think he’s an incredible man, a fantastic manager, and got a really good group together.
“There’s been a lot going on at the football club, on and off the pitch, in terms of the emotional toll that that’s taken on the group, and for Rob. I’m really hoping that we can bring some fresh energy and I look forward to doing a good job here.”
While pre-season expectations, set by Edwards himself, that Luton would challenge for immediate promotion back to the Premier League, the reality has fallen very short of that.
Asked what will contribute as success in his first half a season as Hatters boss, Bloomfield said: “Picking up some results and building some momentum, going into the summer.
“We want to survive, first and foremost. We understand where we are in the league. We understand what’s contributed to the team being in the position where they are right now. But we have big belief.
“Again, I need to reiterate, I wouldn’t have left my job at Wycombe to walk into something I didn’t believe that could be a success. I actually believe that we can be a success here.
“So it’s about picking up some results and building an identity. Start to put the building blocks in place. Try and get some momentum moving into the summer, because the club has high aspirations.
“There’s a really exciting future and vision here and we want to play a big part in that.”
Bloomfield took his first training session this morning, but on his early assessment of what needs to change for Luton to start picking up some points, he said: “Without trying to be too flippant, I think we’ve conceded too many goals and not scored enough.
“That’s been the two standout stats from the season so far, so we need to try and tighten up from conceding so many goals and try and create more opportunities from open play at the other end.
“So they’re the two main focuses of our attention in the immediate future. To win football matches, we need to carry a threat at the top of the pitch. We need to make sure we’re solid at the back.
“That sounds obvious, I know, but they’re the two areas that we need to focus our attention on. Some of the other bits can wait till further down the line, because we can’t overload the players with too much information right away.
“There’s some things we can go after right now and other things that we need to implement on a longer term basis.
“It’s about creating an environment that they feel comfortable working in, some clarity in the way we’re going to go about our business and implementing that on the pitch on a Saturday, on a Tuesday evening and trying to pick up some results as quickly as we possibly can.
“I think results will show us whether we get that right straight away or whether it takes a little bit longer. I do believe that we can implement it quickly. I absolutely believe that. If not, I wouldn’t have left my previous job to come and do this here.
“I believe in what we have in our building. I believe in the work that we can go and do with the group. (There are) some very good footballers here who have obviously, been on the wrong end of a few defeats this season, but some very good players.
“And we really hope that if we can implement the work quickly and bring a bit of a freshness about the building that we can get off to a good start.”
Edwards favoured a formation that incorporated three centre halves as part of a back five, which was a set-up that was a source of frustration for some fans, but in his last match at Queens Park Rangers, he switched to a back four and though they still lost, there was more encouragement in Town’s attacking play.
Asked if he has a formation he prefers, Bloomfield said: “We used them both at Wycombe, and at Colchester, both the three at the back and four. I really enjoyed playing four, for the last calendar year. So, if we can implement that, we absolutely will. But, my philosophy on football is that the formation should suit the group.
“You shouldn’t imprint the formation of a group if it doesn’t fit them. So it’s more principles of play that we believe in, and the formation should fit the group. So we have to analyse that very, very quickly and try and play with a formation that really suits and complements the group.”
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