Next Luton Town Manager Odds

Luton Town are on the lookout for a new manager, following the departure of Nathan Jones to Southampton, after the sacking of Ralph Hasenhuttl.

Jones is a legendary figure at the club, having progressed them to a level that has seen them become Championship play-off contenders. When Jones initially took over at Kenilworth Road back in January 2016, Luton were in a relegation battle in League Two, before the Welshman won 11 out of his 21 matches in charge.

Following his the 2016/17 campaign, he made a series of crucial signings such as Marek Stech, Alan McCormack and James Collins and managed to finish as runner-up in League Two, earning the Hatters promotion to League One.

Jones then left the club the following season with his side sitting second in League One in January 2019 to join Championship outfit Stoke, where he lasted less than 12 months, having won just six of 38 matches in charge. This departure angered some fans due to Luton’s position, with the 49-year-old leaving them with the best points-per-game ratio of any manager in their Football League history, but, there was to be a redemption act by Jones.

In May 2020, Jones returned to Luton for the resumption of the 2019/20 season and pulled off the great escape in the Championship, helping the club finish 19th in the table from a bleak position, before seeing them progress to 12th and sixth-placed finishes in their forthcoming seasons.

It will be a tough task to follow in the steps of Jones, as the Welshman has done a sensational job at Luton on a small budget, but, it will also be a great opportunity for a new manager to showcase their skills with a squad that is clearly a close-knitted group and has the capability to overachieve.

Former Blackpool manager Neil Critchley is the favourite for the vacancy at Kenilworth Road.

Critchley was recently dismissed as part of Steven Gerrard’s coaching team at Aston Villa following the former Liverpool midfielder’s sacking prior to Unai Emery’s appointment.

The 44-year-old had a successful time at Blackpool manager in his two years at Bloomfield Road, as he guided the Seasiders to promotion from League One via the play-offs in the 2020/21 season, before overseeing a 16th place finish in the Championship in 2021/22.

This vacancy would be a perfect opportunity for Critchley to make a quick return back to management at a level that he had previously earned himself a chance to manage at.

Cambridge United manager Mark Bonner is also on the list of candidates to become Peterborough’s next manager.

Bonner has managed 136 games as permanent manager at the Abbey Stadium since taking charge in March 2020, winning 59 of them, seeing Cambridge earn promotion from League Two in 2020/21.

The 36-year-old is highly regarded for the job he has done at United, with Cambridge consolidating their place in League One last season on a small budget, finishing in 14th in 2021/22, whilst currently sitting 18th in the table after 17 matches this campaign.

Ex-Watford manager Rob Edwards is also on this list of potential candidates for the job at Kenilworth Road.

The 39-year-old lost his job at Watford earlier on this season following three wins and five draws in 11 matches, but, due to the Hornets' reputation of harshly sacking managers, his reputation won’t be damaged, especially considering the work he did at Forest Green.

Edwards managed to earn promotion to League One with Forest Green in his one and only season as manager of the club, winning 24 and drawing 19 of his 53 matches in charge as they won the League Two title for the first-ever time.

Ex-Scotland international Duncan Ferguson is one of the frontrunners for the job at Luton.

Ferguson was part of the Toffees’ first-team coaching staff since February 2014 up until the appointment of Frank Lampard and has even been the assistant manager to the likes of Carlo Ancelotti and Rafael Benitez which will have been beneficial experiences for the Scot who was actively known to have wanted the fairly recent vacancy at Goodison Park before Lampard was eventually given the job.

During the 2019/20 season, Ferguson served Everton as an Interim Manager between the sacking of Marco Silva up to the appointment of Ancelotti, managing one win and three draws in his four matches, notably managing to draw with Manchester United and beat Chelsea, the 50-year-old recently took charge of one game last season, which turned out to be a 1-0 home loss to Aston Villa.

Former Peterborough United manager Darren Ferguson has been linked with the role at the Hatters.

The 50-year-old Glaswegian manager resigned at London Road back in February following a run of dismal results that had left Peterborough firmly in the relegation zone.

Ferguson is an experienced manager at League One level, as he has earned two promotions from League One with Posh in 2008/09 and 2020/21, as well as managing two from League Two with both Peterborough and Doncaster Rovers in 2008 and 2017, showing that he has good pedigree towards the lower end of the Football League.

However, what would be of concern, is his failure to not be relegated from the Championship, as he left the likes of Preston North End and Peterborough in poor positions towards the bottom of the league with little hope of survival in England’s second tier.