Buckle’s Hatters are still a work in progress

Luton Town are still very much a work-in-progress for Hatters boss Paul Buckle, writes Mark Wood.

Two members of the coaching staff have been altered during his 11-month tenure, while the playing squad has also been dramatically change.

But Buckle is still in the middle of his transformation as he said: “I’ve been here 11 months, it’s not an awful long time I’ll be honest.

“There’s still a lot of things that need to improve and it’s my job to improve them, but you need time to do that.

“And I’m still finding cracks, I’m still having to patch things up and I’m still working towards getting this to where it needs to be.

“Certainly as you saw on Saturday we got undone again and I wasn’t happy with that.

“It hurts me massively when we lose a game of football. But it hurts me even more when we haven’t got a real grit and determination about us.

“I’ve got lots of things to work on, trust me, this is nowhere near where I want it yet.

“I came into a club that wasn’t in the play-offs, was going in a different direction.

“I’ve done my best last season to get that up-and-running. And I’m doing my best again this season to go and get it done.

“But we’re halfway through and if it takes for me halfway through to go and upset a few people so be it. I’ve only come to Luton to try and be successful.”

And while admitting he wasn’t the greatest player, he has called upon his charges to show the same kind of attitude and determination that he had in his playing days.

Buckle added: “I wasn’t always easy on the eye as a player, but I was determined.

“And determination and spirit can get you a long way in football. It’s the first thing you should have, it’s a gimme. And if you haven’t got it I don’t want that.”

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