Alan Sheehan says Luton Town is a “special place” and a club he loves after returning hanging up his boots and returning to the club as first-team coach.
The 35-year-old was the first signing of manager Nathan Jones when he took over the Hatters hottest in 2016 and he captained the club before leaving on transfer deadline day in January 2020.
He announced earlier this week that he retired from playing, ending a spell as player/coach at Oldham Athletic.
His return was confirmed today along with the return of assistant manager Mick Harford, who returns after undergoing radiotherapy treatment for prostate cancer.
Both men will be in the dugout for Sunday’s FA Cup third round tie at home to Harrogate Town.
Sheehan said: “It’s amazing to be back. It’s an opportunity that I couldn’t say no to, to work under a manager that I loved playing for along with Harty, Mick and the rest of the staff.
“To be able to come in and learn off people like that every day is so exciting, but more importantly to be able to do it at a club that I love, I’m just so happy, my family are happy and I can’t wait to get to work and get into it.
“Luton is a special place for me. I’ve gone away for the last couple of years and been fortunate to work in first team football, learn the ropes and start my apprenticeship. I’ve grafted really hard to get everything into place, but now I just can’t wait to be back at Kenilworth Road and continue learning the role.
“The fans have been unbelievable to me and hopefully I can be a small piece in the jigsaw and contribute as much as I can for them, to help this club continue being really successful.”
Boss Jones told the club’s website: “We are delighted to welcome Sheez back. It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while and it’s something we like here, with the continuity.
“We’ve brought him in because we believe he’s a good coach and he’ll get even better. He’s hungry and wants to learn, and the most important thing is that he knows us, he knows our environment, he’s earned the opportunity by being a wonderful player for us, a fantastic captain and also a fantastic human being, and we believe that with further learning – because he’s had about a year of being a first team coach – he can be a fantastic asset to us.
“We don’t ever make these decisions lightly. We always do real homework. We don’t ever do this on sentiment, but we felt it was the right time to add someone to the environment and develop another coach, with Chris Cohen’s role really enhancing.
“We are giving Chris more responsibility all the time due to his outstanding contribution since he joined us from Nottingham Forest early last season, and we felt that we needed to take a few things off him in terms of supplementary coaching, but we needed to get the right one in.
“Again, I know the fans will be excited because Sheez was so popular as a player and contributed so much to our success. It’s a real boost for everyone to have Mick and Sheez back to work alongside the outstanding coaches we already have.”
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