Angry and frustrated Hatters board promise a return to a 'proper' Luton team following relegation

Town chairman David Wilkinson has vowed that the Hatters will return to a ‘proper Luton team’ next season after admitting the board have been left with feelings of ‘frustration’, ‘anger’ and ‘disappointment’ when witnessing a second successive relegation to League One at the weekend.

A timid 5-3 defeat to West Bromwich Albion, with late goals from Jordan Clark and Milli Alli making the scoreline that bit more respectable, saw the Hatters fall apart in their Championship finale at the Hawthorns, when just a draw would have been enough to prevent them dropping back into the third tier of English football once more.

Following on from the result, Town’s supporters had called on the board to make a statement about the campaign, which arrived on Tuesday evening via the club’s official website. Made by the chairman himself, it saw the board apologise to fans for the woeful season, admit they had made mistakes off the field themselves, but promise steps are now being put in place to ensure the club can rediscover the spirit that saw them reach the giddy heights of the Premier League once more.

It read: “After the long weekend of deep reflection, as chairman and a custodian of our Club, I wanted to express the board’s collective frustration, anger and disappointment at how the season has ended with our relegation to League One. It was not the outcome any of us envisaged at the start of the season after the heights we have scaled in our 17 years together. We have all seen the ups and downs, and as bad as Saturday seems right now, there have been darker days, from which we fought back and went on to make history.

"We know that won’t count for much in the moment, while relegation feels so raw to us all. This weekend has hurt us like no other. We are custodians of our Club but supporters first, who care passionately about our footballing fortunes and misfortunes. We are all accountable and recognise that errors have been made off the pitch, just as they have been on it, to contribute to that end result. We are all so truly sorry the season has finished as it has.

"The in-depth analysis started before relegation was confirmed, as individuals and as a Club, as we set about working harder and more effectively to build on the run of form that, before Saturday’s defeat, had put us in with such a chance of survival. All we can promise, at this moment, is that we will review, regroup and rebuild. Indeed, this has started. We must recover the spirit that was so familiar to us on our rise, and we will use this now as a catalyst for a renewed determination and focus to achieve one objective.

"Lengthy discussions have already taken place with Matt and his staff regarding next season designed to reshape our squad into a proper Luton team we can all be proud to watch next season. No stone will go unturned as we review and prepare for the 2025/26 season, hopefully, with fresh optimism and renewed vigour. Finally, we wish to thank you all for your support over this difficult season and we hope this can be repaid to you upon our return.”