Luton boss will scour the world for new signings

New boss Graeme Jones will scour the world to bring in players capable of giving Town the best chance of competing in the Championship.
New Luton boss Graeme JonesNew Luton boss Graeme Jones
New Luton boss Graeme Jones

The 49-year-old was officially appointed earlier this month as the man to lead Luton into their first season in the second tier of English football since the 2006-07 campaign.

Having worked with the Belgian national team, plus Everton, West Bromwich Albion, Swansea and Wigan Athletic, Jones’ contacts book is already bulging.

However, he will be spreading his net far and wide as when asked about his recruitment strategy, Jones said: “It’s every market, I think you have to. The Championship is renowned worldwide, so you have to look worldwide for your players.

“I’ve done that through the years as I’ve got experience of working with players from South America, all over Europe.

“I just think you have to be open, but what we’ve got to get at Luton is the right players.”

After two promotions in two seasons, Jones isn’t planning on just ditching the players who have got the club in this position though.

He continued: “It’s not about improvement, it’s about helping the squad.

“It’s about making the squad a little bit bigger and a little bit more competitive, a little bit more flexible, because there’s a tactical challenge in the Championship that changes game by game.

“It’s just making sure when that window closes that we’re equipped.

“The first thing I want to state is, if we were in League One, we’d be looking to do that.

“But the group of players that are here have earned the right to be part of it.

“If we can improve and help the payers that are here in certain areas and improve the squad, then I’m sure with Gary (Sweet, chief executive), that’s what we’ll do.”

One thing that is for sure is Jones won’t have any trouble in attracting the kind of player he wants to the club after the success of recent seasons.

He said: “Championship football, a new stadium, a great group of players that are already here, good foundations at the club, I think that then travels well in the world of football now.”

And although Sweet has declared Town will not overstretch to compete at this level, that is not something that will bother Jones either.

He added: “I’ve known nothing else.

“At Swansea we had a budget, at Wigan we had budget, at Everton we had a budget, for the Belgium national team we had no budget, so I’ve known nothing else really.

“It’s about doing your work and doing extra work, going into detail and working within the confines of the club.

“I’ve got no problem with that.”