From League Two, burglarised training ground hot-box Portakabins and school kid jibes to state-of-the-art facilities and Championship progression – boss Nathan Jones says he’s proud of how “unrecognisable” Luton is from the club he took over in 2016.
The Welshman is preparing to manage Luton for the 300th time on Saturday against Sunderland, having set in motion the club’s rise up the Football League and is now working on Town’s aim of a return to the top-flight.
Jones’ two spells in the hotseat have brought many memorable and well-documented moments on the pitch, but he believes off-the-field advances have also been key to the club’s resurgence.
From moving into their new training ground, The Brache, to getting planning permission for a new stadium at Power Court, Jones has been part of the changes that last season got them to the precipice of the Premier League.
“It’s just the progression that we’ve made, it’s unrecognisable in six years,” said Jones of his 299 games in charge.
“It’s not all been me, but from where we were in 2016, obviously the club had ambitions and we were like-minded in terms of developing this football club, we’re in the most wonderful place.
“That’s come from the six years of tireless work and previous work from others getting it to that point.
“When I look at my tenure, we were training at Ely Way which, with the greatest of respect, was a Portakabin that got broken into twice in the first month.
“I couldn’t open my own windows, so when it was hot, it was boiling. We had a table tennis table that we ended up smashing.
“To where we are now, in this state-of-the-art place (The Brache) and in terms of what we want to do. We’re a progressive Championship side.
“I remember training at a school up at Stopsley, getting abused by Luton kids and Luton teenagers and we’re a far cry from that now.
“It’s just everything in the way we’ve grown. Yeah, there are individual games, but the (Championship) survival one is probably the one that stands out. Promotions are good, but it was such a big one. It’s a shame there were no fans.
“Big wins we’ve had, eights, sevens and going away and winning fives, to testing ourselves. All those things have been great.
“But if you sit back, have a look and have a little Mr Ben moment, where you look back and see where we were in 2016 to where we are now, that’s the pride.”
And while Town are reeling from a 4-0 derby day defeat at Watford on Sunday, the bigger picture is one of a football club on the up and up, which has so far matched the plans laid out when Jones first took over.
He said: “We’re bang on track. We’ve been on track for a long time. That’s good, that’s a credit to everyone, because a manager can’t do that. A CEO can’t do that. A board can’t do that.
“It has to be an alignment right throughout. Everyone has to pull in the right direction.
“And to do it the way we’ve done it, we don’t like speaking about resources anymore because we’re really competitive.
“But how we have done it, by not flashing money, but the work that’s been right from the top and throughout, the alignment, the character, the environment, the culture that we have, that’s the biggest thing that I take pride in.
“It’s a great club to work for, a great club to be in and around. There are real good human beings throughout and people that are good at their jobs and that’s a thing that people miss.
“We are this aggressive side and so on but people are very good at their jobs at Luton Town. And if they weren’t working for Luton they’d be working at some very good places, clubs or whatever it is, because it’s a special place.”
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Three successive home wins v Sunderland in the old Division One in the late fifties – 8-2, 6-2 and 7-1 – and I was lucky enough to see them all. Too much, I suppose, to hope for something similar to celebrate Nathan’s 300th, especially if the bug is still about. 1-0 would do, even if it is the most nail-biting scoreline! Either way, congratulations, Nathan, and all the best for KR on Saturday.