Buckle breaks his silence over Hatters exit

Hatters boss Paul Buckle has finally broken his silence about his decision to leave the club in February, writes Mark Wood.
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Press conference at LTFC before the FA Cup game on Saturday against Millwall.
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Press conference at LTFC before the FA Cup game on Saturday against Millwall.
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L13-185 14/2/13 MBLN Press conference at LTFC before the FA Cup game on Saturday against Millwall. wk 8 MW JX

In an exclusive interview with the News/Gazette, the ex-Town chief confirmed the decision was due to his partner Rebecca Lowe heading up NBC’s coverage of Premier League matches from their base in Connecticut, USA, next season, which was confirmed recently.

Buckle admitted it had been a ‘massive’ decision to leave Kenilworth Road just over 10 months into the job, but with so much upheaval beckoning he didn’t feel he would be able to concentrate fully on the job of managing the Hatters.

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On his decision to step away, he said: “This was totally, totally, personal reasons and emigrating and moving away to the USA doesn’t come around every day.

“The announcement was a difficult one because NBC hadn’t released it so I couldn’t disclose why I was leaving.

Buckle felt he was only at the beginning of his long-term plan at Kenilworth Road, but didn’t feel he could continue to properly manage the team with a move to America looming large.

He continued: “To do football management you have to be totally committed. You have to sleep, eat, live and drink it. I just felt I wouldn’t be able to do the two.”

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