Ex-Hatter feels Luton must appoint a 'passionate' manager similar to Nathan Jones

Former Luton midfielder Jonathan Smith feels the Hatters need to appoint a ‘passionate’ manager in a similar vein to ex-Town chief Nathan Jones as the club’s successor to Matt Bloomfield.

The 41-year-old was relieved of his duties after a difficult nine months in charge at Kenilworth Road on Monday afternoon, leaving the job with the club having been relegated back to the third tier last term and then making an indifferent start to life in the third tier, sitting 11th in the table after three defeats from their last five league games.

A 2-0 loss at Stevenage on Saturday signalled the end of Bloomfield’s unsuccessful nine month reign, as speaking to BBC Sounds, asked what kind of replacement the Hatters should be going after, then the 38-year-old, who played 176 times for Luton between 2012-17, said: “I tell you what there's not going to be a shortage of people wanting to manage Luton Town. It's an amazing club, what an opportunity it is for someone now.

"There'll be a lot of managers who are out of work, even managers who are in work, thinking, I fancy that as what a club, what a ground, what a fanbase. In terms of what sort of manager do they require, for me I think they need someone a little bit like Nathan Jones. In terms of not Nathan Jones specifically, but someone who’s really passionate, really buys into that passion of the club to get the fans onside. I always thought as a player at Kenilworth Road that if you got the fans onside with a tackle or a shot early on, they really got going and got that energy going.

“I think someone who can bring that energy out of those players, bring a bit of life to the place, a bit of enthusiasm, that's the sort of person that I believe they should be looking at. Whether that's a younger manager who’s going to bring that freshness and energy, it's going to be a tricky one for the board to decide who will be next but there won't be a shortage of applicants.”

Although Smith was sorry to see Bloomfield leave, having been at a number of matches in his punditry role, and witnessed last Tuesday night’s 2-2 draw at Blackpool, he wasn’t shocked to see the decision had been made, continuing: “I'm a little bit gutted for him as I know how much of a hard working lad he is. I actually played against Matt Bloomfield a number of times and he's a naturally hard-working guy. I know he would have been working all hours to try and turn this around.

"What I've noticed is how much the team has changed though. He's not been able to find that settled line-up, I think he's still searching for that nine, 10 games in and he’s a little bit unsure of what system, what personnel and that's just heightened the pressure really in terms of fans thinking does he know what he's doing so to speak.

"I'm not surprised, just because of the fans’ reaction really. You know then the fans start turning, similar to the Rangers situation then it's difficult for the board and Gary Sweet (chief executive) to ignore that. Having spoken to quite a number of supporters when I was at the Blackpool game there was quite a bit of unrest and worry about how the season had started.”

The former Hatter had been part of a side that had to deal with struggling to get out of the Conference when being one of the biggest teams in the division. He spent 12 months at Kenilworth Road before Luton were able to get back into the Football League, so he knows just what the expectation will be like on the club’s low on confidence players in League One this campaign, saying: “The thing is with Luton now that every game they go into League One, then coming down from the Premier League and competing against all those big teams, they are seen as a big fish.

"They are seen as right Luton are here today, it's a big game and they’re one of the bigger clubs. They’re one of the favourites, so like Stevenage on Saturday, teams really do raise their game, really do give it everything to try and get a result against Luton and if Luton aren't fully at it like they haven't been in some of the games then they’re finding it tough. They’re still mid-table, there’s still a long way to go. Some people might say it’s a little bit early but Gary Sweet (chief executive) will know the expectation is to be up that league. The budget is to be up the top of the league and at the moment they're just falling short of that."

Smith does back the Hatters’ CEO to be able to appoint a new manager who can lead Hatters back to where they should be though, while he believes the players who didn’t perform under Bloomfield will also be hurting about his dismissal, adding: “I find it difficult to criticise Gary Sweet as he was amazing with me when I was at the club.

"I know how much he cares for the club, he lives and breathes it, so this would have been a really tough decision for him. He will have put the club first, he’ll know Matt is a good guy, a hard-working guy, but if he thinks it's the right decision then he will make it because he cares for the club more than anything. When I joined the club were in the Conference and we lost the manager when I was there, Paul Buckle, and I was gutted.

"You are, when you’re a player, you take it personally, depending where you’re at. If you’re a regular in the team or you’re in and around the squad you’re gutted when the manager goes, you really are as you think you know what, you feel a little bit like you've let him down a bit and that's how I'm sure some of the players will be feeling a little bit low. But sometimes a fresh face coming in, just a different set of eyes on it and a little bit of a different approach, can just give everyone that boost.”