Luton announce Cohen as assistant manager with Harford returning to recruitment role

Luton have announced that club legend Mick Harford is returning to his role as chief recruitment officer, with first team coach Chris Cohen stepping up to become assistant manager.

The 63-year-old was appointed to the role back in January 2016 soon after Nathan Jones took over for his first spell in charge.

He then became interim boss when Jones departed for Stoke City, leading the Hatters to the Championship, before being brought back into the fold as number two, once Graeme Jones had left and Nathan Jones returned to save the club from relegation.

Harford remained in the position last term, although took time away from his duties to undergo radiotherapy treatment for prostate cancer in August, before returning to the dug-out in the new year once it had been completed.

However, the former striker will now revert to his original position once more, as Jones said: “Chris has been doing the role anyway in terms of his work, he’s very heavily involved.

“Mick, if I’m honest, I always want to keep people around me who are more experienced than me, because I’m still learning my trade.

“I’m still willing to learn and I’m open-minded to do that.

“I always had Paul Hart with me, who has been an excellent ally for me, but he’s obviously moved and taken over and is doing a wonderful job in our academy.

“So, Mick, after lockdown stepped up and did another role, which he’s done before.

"He was excellent for me and he maintained that role last year, while we were bedding in Chris Cohen and adding Alan Sheehan.

“Now, the time is right where Chris has probably overtaken Mick on that side of things, so Mick now reverts to the role that he’s done so well for year.”

Cohen himself was appointed in September 2020 after being on the staff at Nottingham Forest’s academy, a club he served for over a decade as a player.

Jones added: “It’s been a really nice, structured, methodical, thought-out evolutionary process.

“Chris comes in and is really enthusiastic but he’s growing a developing into a really good, tactical coach.

"That’s what I need and that’s what my assistant has to be.

“I still have Mick, Paul and really good experience around me, that will always keep me grounded and filled with sane knowledge.

“And then I’ve got real enthusiasm and up-and-coming hunger to keep pushing us forward.

“All the time, I’m evolving and gaining more experience.

"So me leaning on the older generation is not quite becoming less, but I’m trusting my own decisions a little bit more, than just going to Paul or just including Mick.

“It’s a really good evolution process and one I’m very grateful for doing because it takes a lot of patience.

"It also takes the club backing me on my recruitment for players, coaches, assistants, everything.

“They always have and we’ve always made structural, sane decisions and this is another one.

“We’re delighted and we thank Mick for his work, but I’m really excited to work with Chris because he’s evolving into something really good, he just needs guidance.”