Enjoyment factor meant Luton midfielder was happy to extend his Hatters stint despite relegation

Town midfielder Liam Walsh revealed that despite Luton’s relegation putting the club in a position they don’t want to be in this season, he was more than happy to extend his stint at Kenilworth Road after finally beginning to enjoy his football once more.

The 27-year-old came through the ranks at Everton as a youngster, having loan spells at Yeovil and Birmingham, then joining Bristol City in January 2018. It wasn’t until a loan spell at Coventry City in September 2019 that he was really able to showcase his talents though, making 34 appearances for the Sky Blues in an impressive stint that saw him named the club’s Young Player of the Year, Players' Player of the Year, also selected for the League One PFA Team of the Season too

However, Walsh failed to build on that apparent breakthrough, as injuries blighted his time with Swansea and Hull, agreeing to move to Luton on a free transfer last summer having started just 60 league games in his career. It looked like he was going to ruin his chances of being a success with the Hatters too, sent off twice for rash tackles when coming off the bench against Oxford and Blackburn, as the majority of fans quickly lost patience with his lack of discipline.

That changed when winning his place back in the side under Matt Bloomfield though, as he began 14 of the last 15 games, showing signs of just why he was part of the Toffees academy and earned England youth caps at U18 and U20 level, going on to finish the campaign with 28 outings, the second highest in his time as a professional.

Although he couldn’t prevent Town dropping out of the Championship, Walsh was rewarded with a new one year deal in the summer, and speaking to the club’s official website about what he discussed with Bloomfield before extending his time in Bedfordshire, he said: “We both said what we wanted to say and we both had a similar head on with where both we want to be.

“I had a good chat with him and, working with him last year, I enjoyed my football and I haven’t enjoyed it as much as I have done for a while. The gaffer put his trust in me and giving me another year here, I couldn’t be more thankful and I’m looking forward to it. We had a tough season last season, we don’t want to be where we are now, but we're here, so I think it was important to get the rest and recover and get ready for a big season this year.”

Walsh was able to get away and gather his thoughts after a campaign in which the Hatters looked like they were going to escape the drop to the third tier until a final day 5-3 hammering at West Bromwich Albion sent them down on goal difference. The midfielder felt it was essential to have some down time after such a disappointing end to the season, but is now eager to see just what Bloomfield has in store for the squad as they will no doubt be plotting an immediate return to the Championship.

He added: "I tried to enjoy it as much as I can, I got away to a few places and tried to get a good summer. I feel like every summer the break goes quicker and quicker, but all the lads have come in looking well. We've had a good couple of days, we're just going through some testing to see where everyone's at. It's good, getting back to see all the lads and getting back into our routine again.

“The first day we got our running test in and straight away after that we're already learning our new patterns of plan and going over stuff that the gaffer wants us to learn. Getting all of those sessions in early doors and getting everything right will give us the fundamentals to do well this season. If they’re going to hammer it into us this early on then the earlier we’ll learn it and the better we’ll start off this season.”