Bloomfield reveals what was said during exchange of words with Luton supporter

Hatters boss Matt Bloomfield has explained just what happened when he was involved in a brief exchange of words with a Luton supporter following yesterday’s 1-0 victory over Doncaster Rovers.

Having received some heavy criticism from Town fans during after his side’s 3-1 defeat at Lincoln City the previous weekend, a number of away followers calling for him to depart Kenilworth Road, the manager cut a determined figure as he walked across the pitch to take his place in the dug-out ahead of a crucial fixture for the hosts. Switching to a back four, Bloomfield then watched his team have the better of the first half, going ahead through Kal Naismith’s header from George Saville’s free kick on 40 minutes, although missed a great chance to double their lead moments later, Nahki Wells’ penalty excellent saved by visiting keeper Ian Lawlor.

After the break, there wasn’t a huge amount of quality in the contest, but having lost their last two matches, it was vital Town held on, which they did, securing a crucial three points, restricting Rovers to very little bar a Luke Molyneux effort that he blasted wide in stoppage time. Bloomfield then applauded the home faithful afterwards, as he always does, although there was no hint of any fist pumping celebrations or the broad smile that usually accompanies his lap of appreciation, clearly stung by the stick that has come his way recently.

However, just when he was about to make his way down the tunnel, having heard something shouted towards him, Bloomfield turned and gestured towards the stands with his arms raised before exiting the pitch and heading back to the dressing rooms. Asked just what happened in his post match press conference, he revealed: “There was a guy in the stands who wanted me to get the boys going or something. He said something about getting them going, but we’ve just won a game of football, so I said ‘we’ve just won.’

"We have no divine right to win games in any league by the way, League One’s tough, every game is going to test us. We have to understand that this is going to be a tough season, we have to consolidate as a group and grow and hopefully achieve what we all hope to achieve, but we have no divine right to win any games. My reply was that we just won a game of football and I think the boys did get going. I understand that the last 15 minutes we were maybe deeper than what we wanted to be, but that was just the exchange.”

Discussing just how important the supporters’ backing for their team was both on the day and going forward now, as Town set their sights on a promotion challenge back to the Championship, the boss added: “Very much so, we are going to be a lot stronger as a group together. I want our supporters to support their team, be proud of their team, but all we can do is keep working. I love my job here, I love being a part of this football club and I want to provide a team that they’re proud of and they get behind. I was really pleased with their backing today and I hope the majority enjoyed it.”