Bloomfield is hoping for a new manager bounce with the Hatters
Town have lost their last five games in all competitions
Luton chief Matt Bloomfield is hoping to see what is perceived as a new manager bounce when he takes charge of the Hatters for this time against Preston North End this afternoon.
The 40-year-old moved to Kenilworth Road from League One promotion-chasers Wycombe Wanderers earlier in the week to take over a Town side who are struggling badly in the Championship this season. A run of four straight defeats, five if you include the FA Cup exit to Nottingham Forest, and just two wins in their last 10 league matches cost former boss Rob Edwards his job by mutual consent recently, as a run of 10 straight losses on the road means Luton take the field this afternoon sitting in 20th place.
The Hatters are also just two points off the drop zone, far too close a gap for the liking of a Town hierarchy and fanbase who were witnessing their side in Premier League action this time last year, pushing the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City all the way. With results often picking up when there is a change at the top, Bloomfield is now hoping that also occurs in Bedfordshire, saying: “I think it’s just a fresh energy, the bounce is probably a fresh energy.
"There’s going to be players that a change of manager works out for because they’ve maybe not played so much and they’ll play more, there might be players who have played lots and will play less, it’s just the game and everyone will have their own individual opinions on formations, players. Of course we would love to get off to a very good start, we’d love there to be a perception of a bounce and that’s what we’re going after.
"But for me it’s about the identity and the way we’re going about our work. How are the boys receiving that information? How do we improve what we want to do? It’s about putting those things in place. We’d love to get short term goals and short term points absolutely but it's about balancing that with the longer terms as well.”
With Bloomfield having less than six months in charge at Colchester United prior to taking over at the Chairboys in February 2023, it means has accrued a little over two years experience of being a number one, following on from a playing career in which he spent almost two decades with Wycombe. Asked how he has gone about integrating himself into his new place of work since getting the nod from chief executive Gary Sweet and the rest of the Luton board, he continued: “I try and get across as quickly as I can who I am, what I stand for and how we’re going to work together.
"There’s obviously a settling in process and that’s natural. We’re not going to know each other straight away, but it’s really important that we build that working relationship, understand what each other needs for that to be successful. So that was my first port of call on Tuesday to really try and get that across to the players and build that relationship. We’ve now moved on to the principles of how we want to play, and the boys are really listening.
"They’re taking it on board, in terms of their intensity of training and how they’re receiving the information, it’s been very respectful and I’ve really enjoyed the sessions so far. It’s a new start for us all. The players are meeting a new manager, for me I want to make the right impression on the boys. We want them to know that we can help, that’s what footballers want. They want to know you can help them, they want to know you can help them win games, improve and develop and move forward.
"I think that’s really important and that can come down to the quality of your work. It doesn’t matter how you present yourself, if the quality of your work isn’t right then the belief isn’t there, so we’re trying to be as thorough as we possibly can, carry on some of the good work that’s already been done at the football club with the identity and style that we really believe in.”
Although Bloomfield knows full well that his appointment alone won't just lead to an upturn in results, he is hoping that by improving the areas he feels require work, that the proof will quickly be shown on the pitch, allowing Town to start to pick up the points he feels they have missed out on, adding: “It’s impossible to ensure anything in football as it’s a random game played by humans so there’s lots of mistakes.
"You can’t ensure anything, you can’t guarantee anything, what you can do is try and understand what you want to improve, and try and improve those elements. If those elements have a big enough difference on the game then you can transform results. I do believe that the group could have had more points up until this point, absolutely, but hopefully that’s a good factor for us to improve things.”