How Luton Town stopped the slump: Matt Bloomfield reveals the turning point for the Hatters, the one thing they refuse to discuss and what’s new this summer as they target rapid return to Championship

After back-to-back relegations and sinking from the Premier League to League One in little over a year, you could forgive the Luton Town powerbrokers if they spent their summer sitting around feeling sorry for themselves.

But two days after the drop was confirmed, boss Matt Bloomfield walked into a room with chairman Gary Sweet, assistant manager Richard Thomas and operations chief James Mooney – and told them there was no point in looking back. From here, the only way is up.

Of course, there were understandably some dark days when the mind did turn to last term, a bit of ‘soul searching’ was done. After all, it’s not that deep a dive into the memory back to recall when Luton suffered three consecutive relegations, to drop all the way from the Championship to the Conference in 2009.

And now they are the fourth team in the Premier League era to drop from the top flight to the third tier in the shortest possible time.

But now, the only thing on the agenda at Kenilworth Road is applying the brakes on the slump, turning the ship around and looking forward.

‘I like being busy but this summer has been particularly hectic,’ Bloomfield, 41, tells Daily Mail Sport, noting 10 new signings and 15 exits in an overhaul. The squad which neutral fans may recognise from the Premier League or Championship has had a head-to-toe makeover.

‘I’ve been very hands on. We met up on the Monday after the last game and asked: what challenges will we face? Where do we need to go with the squad? What threats will we have from other clubs? We understood natural evolution would happen.

Goalkeeper Josh Keeley is one of 10 first-team additions this summer, signing for £1million from Tottenham

‘We started straight away and got to work. I was on holiday with my wife and girls in Tenerife and bumped into the Wolves head of loans (Steve Davis), so I bought him a beer and started talking about whether we will sign Nigel Lonwijk on loan! It never stops.’

Bloomfield joined Luton in January after leading Wycombe – where he played 557 games as a player over a 19-year stint – to second in League One with a limited budget and having them as one of Europe’s most in-form teams.

Before that, he had steered Colchester clear of the drop in League Two as a 38-year-old rookie.

Given the size of the Hatters, this was a move he felt he could not turn down despite his strong league position in Buckinghamshire – but it was an almighty challenge.

The club were, to put it mildly, in freefall. And whatever Bloomfield tried he could not stop the slump. Saying that, he made a giant fist of it: in the last 10 games, only promoted Leeds and Burnley had more points. Sadly, it was too little, too late.

But as Bloomfield tells us: ‘I do not mind talking about the relegation. It is fine, it is life, it is what it is and I am willing to discuss it.

‘There was a lot of soul-searching and analysing over the summer, to be honest. For me personally and the whole football club.

‘Trust me, it was not easy to get over. It was terribly disappointing. But we were never going to evolve and improve by hanging on to that emotion. We had to let go. Start focusing on the future. We cannot change the past, only change our future.

Luton began the season with a 1-0 win over AFC Wimbledon at Kenilworth Road

And they made it two wins from two to begin life back in League One last week, with a 2-0 success away Peterborough United

‘We are working towards something new and exciting so that should bring energy. The mood has been very good in the camp. For the first four weeks of pre-season, what happened last season was not mentioned… it is only now that I keep getting asked about it by you journalists!

‘We cannot hide that it has been a very tumultuous time for the club. But now we have a freshness about us… fresh faces, fresh energy, a fresh style of playing. We believe in the work we undergo and there are so many good people inside the building now.’

TV documentary crews have missed a trick not picking Luton as their team to follow over the last decade. In just the last eight seasons, the Hatters have had three promotions, two relegations and played in all four tiers of the English professional system. They were in League Two as recently as 2018 and the Premier League last year. Truly, there is never a dull day.

They go into this season as the bookies’ favourites for promotion again and have started strongly, winning their first two league games without conceding before Saturday’s trip to Bradford City. So, after two years with little expectation, how do they cope with the pressure?

‘I love the pressure, I love it,’ says Bloomfield. ‘I love that my team is being spoken about. We cannot affect what people say or think about us, right or wrong. We have to be realistic with how much change we have had over the summer, how much emotion there has been over the last three seasons.

‘So stay calm and work hard. I am at the training ground by 7am. Watching the games back, we record training and analyse that back, meeting potential signings face-to-face or online. Then it’s in the car and it continues.

‘My day does not really stop until I close my eyes at night. I am lying in bed WhatsApping and making sure everything is as it should be. One thing I really need to learn to do is switch off more, I know I cannot keep up this pace for ever.’

The main goal for the season is, of course, promotion – but everyone in the building is eager to give back to the loyal fanbase who have endured the following over the last two years: 19 wins and 47 defeats in 84 league games, with a combined goal difference of minus 57.

Bloomfield (second left) is ready for the scrutiny and has promised attacking football

‘If you look at my teams I have managed, we believe in attacking football and getting as many points as possible in my philosophy,’ says Bloomfield. ‘There has been very little to cheer about for our fans in the last two seasons.

‘I want our fans to be proud of their team. This football club has such a rich and proud history. I want them to come to watch us, get off their seats, tell all their mates about how fun we are to watch.

‘I want to be attack-minded and for our fans to believe in us and be excited by us. They are so dedicated and support their club through thick and thin, so I want to give them stuff to cheer about and give them a team to be excited to come and watch.

‘That gets my juices flowing, that is what I am always chasing.’