Buckle turns his focus on to the training field

CONCENTRATING on the players he’s got is now at the forefront of Luton manager Paul Buckle’s mind, writes Mark Wood.

He was delighted with the condition of his players when they reported for pre-season training at Ely Way on Monday.

Buckle completed his sixth signing of the summer when he netted 22-year-old former Torquay United defender Lathaniel Rowe-Turner on Monday.

And while he refused to rule out any more additions as certain targets consider their future, he is ready to focus on the players he has following 13 departures from Kenilworth Road.

He said: “I think now’s a time where we want people to come to us. We did an awful lot of work Gary Sweet and I over the last few weeks.

“I really want to concentrate on the training field now.

“If you start at the back, you look at Rowe-Turner and Ronnie Henry, they know their positions and both can play at centre-half so that’s good cover. You also have Garry Richards.

“You move into the midfield, (Danny) Spiller has lots of legs and lots of energy.

“You’ve got (Scott) Rendell and (Jon) Shaw and I really felt we needed to do that one.”

There could also be more departures, but Buckle asserted he wasn’t forcing anyone to leave.

He added: “The guys that are under contract that certainly haven’t figured over the last few months as regulars, I’ve left it open. I’m not pushing anybody out of here.

“Everybody trained to the best of their ability. They all came back in great shape.

“I think we’ve got a really healthy attitude here. I said before we couldn’t rule out a couple more (leaving), players want to play.

“You want them knocking on your door saying why am I not in your starting 11? If people move on we always have a contingency.”

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