Luton chief tried to persuade assistant Rutter to stay

Hatters boss Graeme Jones revealed he did everything he could to change Steve Rutter’s mind after the former assistant manager decided to leave the club.
Ex-Luton assistant Steve RutterEx-Luton assistant Steve Rutter
Ex-Luton assistant Steve Rutter

Rutter had been travelling into training from his home in Yeovil most days, and although Jones had wanted him to stay on, it would been in more of a coaching role than a number two.

The former Yeovil boss opted not to take on the new position, instead heading out to Greece to become assistant coach at Atromitos.

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On his exit, Jones said: “I offered Steve an opportunity to stay here, but Steve had already made up his mind that the commute from Yeovil was too much and geographically he will actually see more of his family while working in Greece, which I can understand.

“I had two or three good roles for Steve and I did try my best.

“When I spoke to Steve I went into detail about what I wanted him to do and I tried to change his mind, but I couldn’t.

“He wanted to leave and I was disappointed, because he’d done a great job.

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“I watched the sessions that he took and his contribution was big, but he came to me and said he just couldn’t do the commute any more.”

Jones had previously stated that he was looking to bring in four members of staff and on how that is progressing, he added: “It’s ongoing.

“We’ve lost Steve Rutter and need to replace him as a coach. So we’ve got that role to fill.

“We’ve got a sports scientist position to fill, and then there are one or two other little areas – maybe another analyst and another masseur – but it just takes time.”