Hatters defender tells Luton fans 'we let you down' by dropping into League One

Luton defender Amari’i Bell has apologised to the Hatters’ fans for letting them down after the club tumbled through the Championship relegation trapdoor to League One this season.

Town had given themselves every chance of remaining in the second tier, taking the fight to stay up down to the final day when they travelled to West Bromwich Albion needing a win to survive, while as it turned out, a draw would have been enough. However, Luton were in no shape to get the point they needed, trailing 5-1 with an hour gone, as although Jordan Clark and Milli Alli pulled two late goals back, it wasn’t enough as Hull’s 1-1 draw at Portsmouth ensured it was the Tigers who climbed above the dotted line and stayed up.

For Bell, who had been reaching some of his best form of the campaign in recent weeks when moving to the left-hand side of the back three alongside Mark McGuinness and Christ Makosso, was then repositioned to left wingback with Alfie Doughty absent for the rest of the season, in a bid to get Alli, who had been playing there in a makeshift role previously, further up the pitch.

However, he, along with Teden Mengi, struggled badly at the Hawthorns, as all five goals came from their flank, the Jamaican international outjumped by Daryl Dike for the crucial second goal, while Tom Fellows escaped the duo’s attentions not once, but twice, to find the net, as Town’s previously solid back-ling simply fell apart in the West Midlands.

It saw the 2,500 travelling fans vent their anger at the final whistle, with the Hatters players booed off by those in the away end, as having been in the Premier League just 12 months previously, they are now gearing up for third tier football next term. With 31 appearances in the Championship under his best last term, Bell was one of a number of players who took to social media to offer his apologies for the way the campaign went, as he wrote on Instagram: “I think we all expected this season to go better than it did, but it didn’t go as planned.

"Everybody is hurting in the same way. Performances have been up and down and it wasn’t good enough for standards my self and the team have set in previous times. You were with us right until the end and we let you down, no words can describe how sorry I am. The club, town and fans are united through the badge and that’s where the power of a bounce back starts. It’s hard to see the picture when you’re standing in the frame, reflection is key.”

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