Luton chairman believes fans are starting to warm up to Jones appointment

Hatters chairman David Wilkinson believes that Town fans are starting to warm to the return of Nathan Jones as the club’s new manager.

The Welshman was reappointed for his second spell in charge last month, replacing Graeme Jones, after being out of work since November following a miserable spell at Stoke City, whom he originally left Town for in January 2019, winning just six games out of 38 in charge.

A recent poll run by the Luton News on Twitter would appear to back up Wilkinson's claims, as from 1,170 votes, 72.9 per cent declared themselves happy to see Jones in the dugout once more.

Wilkinson admitted that like most supporters, he never wanted Jones to come back to manage the club again after the acrimonious manner in which he departed, but revealed how he had a change of heart after getting the opportunity to hear him out.

Speaking to the Luton News, he said: “Me, initially, I would have been against (a return), because I would have thought, ‘no, we can’t get over what happened.’

“It’s not the fact the guy wasn’t capable of doing the job, but the fact of the way it was handled at the time.

“That mad week, the first week of him going, and taking his team with him, it wasn’t easy to forget that.

“But in time you have to go with what you think is best for the club and I’ve now forgiven him and forgotten it and that’s it.

“You go on from here, other people were the same, were hurt by it.

"But the fans that are still anti, they haven’t had the advantage that we have of talking to him and getting an apology directly from him, or seeing whether they think he is genuine in that apology or not.

“Some people say 'well he would say that wouldn’t he as he wanted his job back,’ but I think it’s not.

“I think he’s the right guy and he gets Luton. Not everybody does, because we are a bit different.

“I’m sure there are some fans who are not too happy about it.

"A few wins under our belts will perhaps change people’s perceptions and I think the majority are supportive now.”

Wilkinson does appreciate that Jones himself has shown a fair bit of character in opting to head back to a job despite knowing full well he faces criticism from some sections of supporters that he might never win back onside.

He added: “It is quite brave, but I think we’ve done quite a good job in laying the land for him too.

“I don’t think there’ll be much criticism, I’ve spoken to some fairly vociferous fans, and I hope, touch wood, they say I’ve turned them.

“Gary (Sweet, chief executive) has spoken to a lot more and I think he thinks he’s turned a lot of them.

“If he keeps us up, he goes from zero to hero, even if he doesn’t and we believe he will, he’s probably the best man to operate us in League One, because he knows the level.

“He knows players and there’s going to be better player around after this virus, because football is going to have to cut its cloth a bit tighter.

“There’s going to be a lot of players running around loose, who are at a decent level, so who knows, it’s tough, but it’s going to be quite exciting.”