Luton Town manager Matt Bloomfield has demanded an immediate response from his players after their dreadful performance against Lincoln City last Saturday.
The Hatters host Doncaster Rovers this afternoon aiming to recover from back-to-back defeats, although their trip to the LNER Stadium sparked an angry response from supporters. Luton were outclassed in every department throughout the afternoon but thought they had snatched a point when Jordan Clark grabbed an equaliser 13 minutes from time.
A draw would have been incredibly harsh on the Imps, but those fears were alleviated late on when Justin Obikwu smashed home his first goal for the club before Ben House scored his second of the game with a curling effort from the edge of the box. The result saw Luton slip to 11th in the table, where they are now four points off the play-off places.
Bloomfield Hits Out At Players
Bloomfield has taken some stick from the supporters this week, with growing murmurs that he should be replaced. The former Wycombe Wanderers boss has a chance to ease the pressure this afternoon and he has called on his players to deliver the goods. Speaking to the media, the 41-year-old said:
“I want the team to represent me. Last weekend it didn’t represent me, tomorrow my expectation is it represents me and I expect the boys to go out there and run and scrap and fight and represent our football club. I expect the football to represent what we’ve been working on this week and we have to concentrate on the bigger picture, and everyone’s perception of the situation.
“The reality of the situation is that we’re at a 50 percent win rate and we have to keep fighting, keep working forward to try and improve our performances as last week wasn’t good enough.
“I understand the emotions of the games, and this game takes you to highs and lows, but as a manager it’s really important to keep those in check, so I’m learning all the time in this job. I understand that I have to stay as level as I possibly can, but you also have to feel the disappointment when it’s right to, because we’re not robots.
“So when it’s not right you have to understand the disappointment of your supporters, of our supporters, the disappointment of myself as no-one feels the disappointment as deeply as I do, I can guarantee you of that. I take great pride in my job and when it’s not right it hurts, so we have to correct that.”
Writer’s View
It’s probably a little early to say this afternoon’s fixture is a must-win for Luton, but it probably is for Matt Bloomfield. Four wins from eight is not a disastrous run but another defeat would mean three losses in succession. Should that happen, the pressure from supporters will reach boiling point, especially because the expectation for this season was so high. Playing in the Premier League just 16 months ago, the Hatters believe they should have enough quality to win League One.
