Hatters boss left concerned as Town drop into the relegation zone after Preston draw

Town boss Matt Bloomfield conceded he was concerned by the Hatters’ league position after they dropped into the Championship’s relegation zone at the weekend.

Luton had started the day in 20th place, some two points clear of the bottom three, only to see Cardiff City leapfrog them before kick-off when thumping rivals Swansea City 3-0 in Wales. The Hatters then went below the dotted line before Bloomfield was announced to the Kenilworth Road faithful, Hull City also triumphing, the Tigers earning a 1-0 success at Millwall to also go above Town.

With Luton unable to break down a Preston side who displayed zero ambition in winning themselves, they moved to 26 points, which wasn’t enough to climb out of the bottom three. In fact, Town were to drop even further in the standings due to Portsmouth’s 2-1 win over Middlesbrough, a game that finished late due to a medical emergency at Fratton Park, meaning they found themselves sitting second from bottom .

Plymouth Argyle’s 1-0 loss at home to QPR kept Luton five points off rock bottom, but with 19 games to go, and now on a run of no league wins in five, Town need to start getting results quickly to avoid an embarrassing drop into League One, having played in the Premier League last term. It is clearly a worry for the new manager too, who said: “The league position is a concern. I’m not going to be silly and sit here like a robot and say the league position is not a concern.

"It’s not really changed a huge amount. Before we kicked off we’d already dropped into the bottom three, I was told before we went out, so it was understandable that there was a chance that we would remain there. We want to win games, we want to stay in this league, we believe that we can do absolutely, and that hasn’t deterred us from today. I said in the press on Tuesday, if we won today or lost today, nothing would change, that belief of where we could go to. We’ve got a draw and it’s a good foundation to build on.”

Luton do have the chance to ensure their stay in the relegation zone is a brief one as they head to a now mid-table Oxford United side tomorrow night, where victory could potentially lift them up to 18th place. Having more time to instil his ideas into his players is what Bloomfield was looking forward to getting his teeth into, as he added: “It’s what I love doing, I love being out on the grass with the players, I love being in the meeting room with the players.

"I love trying to get more out of people and that’s what has led me to do this job and what enthuses me and energises me to keep moving forward. Of course, we’re looking forward to getting out on the training ground, preparing for Tuesday night. There’s limited time to try and turn the team around, but come Tuesday night, we’ll be ready.”

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