Luton would have 'no qualms' replacing Bloomfield

Matt Bloomfield was in charge at Colchester United and Wycombe Wanderers before being appointed by Luton

Luton Town chief executive Gary Sweet says the club would have "no qualms" about parting company with manager Matt Bloomfield if results do not improve.

Following back-to-back relegations, the Hatters are 11th in League One after a disappointing 3-1 defeat at Lincoln City last Saturday, which prompted Bloomfield to apologise to fans for the performance.

He left Wycombe Wanderers in January to take over at Luton following the departure of Rob Edwards, who is now in charge at Middlesbrough and has guided them to the top of the Championship.

"If Matt wasn't capable, we would have absolutely no qualms in making that tough decision," Sweet told BBC Three Counties Radio.

"Matt is incredibly capable, he's incredibly resilient, he's incredibly determined. He has become so enthused by this football club - there is an energy you can only really see if you go to the training ground, he does create a fantastic environment.

"We need to turn that environment into performances."

Sweet said the performance at Lincoln had left him "very uncomfortable" and "emotional" as it did not reflect the way the team wants to play or the way the club wants to represent the town.

However, he said the summer transfer window had been the busiest in his 18 years as CEO and the club had "to allow ourselves a bad performance".

Sweet continued: "We do need time for those players to settle. Occasionally we need to forgive a bad day. I am really happy with the way Matt and the players have responded from Saturday's game. They get it."

He admitted that speaking about the manager's position publicly was putting extra pressure on Bloomfield and the squad heading into Saturday's home game against Doncaster Rovers.

But he warned: "It doesn't matter who is in the position - if we keep losing games, if we keep turning in poor performances, of course we're going to part company with the manager.

"That happens at every single football club, including this one in the past."

Sweet said there was an "edginess" in the atmosphere at Kenilworth Road at present, which was affecting the players, especially the younger ones.

"We're not going to get promoted unless Kenilworth Road is a fortress - we've only ever got promoted when Kenilworth Road was a fortress, so somehow we need to turn that around," he said.

"Success for us as an absolute minimum is play-offs but our desire is to get automatic promotion - and that's our target."

Sweet said the board had considered the possibility of bringing in a director of football but did not think it was the right way to go at the current time.

He added: "A director of football is a continental structure that supports a head coach rather than a manager.

"We want Matt to be a manager and manage that whole environment including medical, including sports science and getting heavily involved in recruitment, which he does."

Power Court project in 'really good place'

Gary Sweet has been CEO at Kenilworth Road for more than 18 years

Luton are due to move to a brand new 25,000-seater stadium at Power Court in 2028 and earlier this year agreed a construction partnership with Limak International, who redeveloped Barcelona's Nou Camp stadium.

Sweet said the project was taking up about half of his time, but was in a "really good place" and they would soon be finalising contracts and securing funding.

"Like any really big project, there is this crescendo of decisions and external parties that need to come together at the same time, and once they all do it moves at a fair rate of knots and the acceleration is going to be crazy when it starts," he said.

Sweet said the cost of the new stadium had gone up 60% because of inflation and other economic factors, but it was still affordable.

"We've gone through a couple of iterations of design, but we've not really compromised on the overall look and feel," he added. "We've improved that over time.

"We have cost plan meetings almost every week - there's always a creep up and we bring it back down - but we never change the design and it's testament to everybody involved that we've kept that on track."

Sweet insisted he was still the right man to guide the club forwards, and said the new stadium would enable Luton to "sustain a place" in the Premier League if they get back there.

"I'm full of energy, I don't lack enthusiasm and spirit and I know how to run the business," he added.

"There's nobody that cares more, nobody that will work harder, nobody that's going to be so enthused day to day about everything we do."