Luton players have 'clean slate' under Bloomfield as new Hatters boss details his research into Town's squad

Hatters boss Matt Bloomfield has stated that all of his squad now have a ‘clean slate’ in their bid to get into his first team plans, while also detailing the amount of research he has done to get a handle on just what he has at his disposal at Kenilworth Road.

The Luton chief was appointed on Tuesday afternoon to replace Rob Edwards and takes charge of his first tomorrow when Preston North End are the visitors to Kenilworth Road. With the change in the dug-out, it means that those who haven’t played as much this term could have every chance of featuring more should they impress the new boss, while others who were regulars under the previous manager might find themselves battling for a place once more.

With that in mind, Bloomfield said: “It’s football right, a change of manager is good for some, not so good for others and indifferent for some, that’s just part of the industry. Everyone’s got a clean slate with me. I like to try and take people as I find them. We’ve got an opportunity to work together and I think that working relationship is really crucial. The way we want to work and how we go about that, the way we treat each other and conduct ourselves around the training ground, represent the football club is absolutely crucial. So everyone’s got a clean slate, we’re looking forward to working with the whole group and seeing where we can take it.”

Asked how many games he has now watched of the Hatters in a bid to familiarise himself with his new squad, the former Wycombe Wanderers chief continued: “Several and it might not have been the full game, it might have been clips of some and clips of different players from different games, individual clips and some whole parts of games, so loads of footage. Over the weekend before I met Gary (Sweet, chief executive), I was watching some and by coincidence I watched the QPR game last Monday just because I watch football and it was on the telly.

"There’s been loads of different elements. Some individuals I wanted to go back even further and see certain positions and even at different clubs where they played and what they imprinted on their game then, so there’s been lots that’s gone into it. Loads and loads of footage, loads of stuff that the club has done recently as well to retain some of those elements and also try and move some in a slightly different direction.”

Having watched his players take to the field before they were even signed by the Hatters was an interesting aspect for the new manager to take and he explained further just why he has done so, saying: “I think it’s important as some of the boys have missed a period of time through injury at this football club, some of them haven’t played so much recently, some of them we want to contribute in a bigger way and I think different environments bring out different performances in people, as do formations and different managers.

"It’s really important we give everybody as much opportunity as possible to contribute to the group. We’re carrying a few injuries so the players we have available are absolutely crucial and vital to us right now and we have to give them every chance to be successful. I want to give everyone an opportunity to impress and help us moving forward and I think that’s really important to look back at longer term footage.

"Not too distant, but we’ve definitely looked at that, as I’ve come up against some of those players at previous clubs, so it’s important just to get as round a view on them as possible. I’ve tried to build up a knowledge base. I had quite a big knowledge base already on the group, we’ve now seen how they’re trying to work and who can take that forward.

"We’re trying to put a team out, plus the team needs to complement each other. There’s different elements of what makes a successful team, so it’s not just about picking what you perceive to be the best players at that moment as the team needs to have the right ingredients to win a football match. All those things go in the melting pot. It’s been fantastic to have big Mick (Harford), Deardo (Kevin Dearden), Pilks (Kevin Pilkington), to lean on their knowledge of the football club as well as our ideas coming in with fresh eyes. So trying to put all that in and pick a team that we believe can go and win the game.”

Now he has had a few days training with his players, asked whether Town’s squad is even better than he had expected ahead of taking the job, the boss added: “I knew we had some really good players and that went into my decision to come to this football club, but seeing them close up you learn so much more as well, the little nuances of their game, what are they really good at? How do we get the best out of them? How do we learn about them really, really quickly?

"I’ve been really impressed with the group, really pleased as it’s reciprocal the relationship, it’s not teacher, student. It’s about us trying to get our ideas across, but without us seeing the world through their eyes, I can’t know enough to give them the right information, so having that two way conversation is really, really important to me.

"They’ve been very good at that, and I think it’s important to stress that. We’ve got a busy week coming up, three games, and we want to get off on the right footing tomorrow. But we’ve already spoken about three wins or three losses doesn’t alter my belief about the job we can do here, but at the same time we’d love to get off to a good start.”