UPDATED: Buckle set for showdown FA Cup cash talks with Sweet

Luton earned over half a million pounds from their historic run to the fifth round, which ended on Saturday with the 3-0 home defeat to Championship side Millwall.

Buckle is now hoping the lion’s share of that money will now be made available to him to win promotion this season or the next.

The Town chief had said he wanted the whole amount, but admitted he was unlikely to get it.

Speaking at today’s press conference, he said: “We’re having a chat this afternoon to see where we are with things.

“I’m always going to say that (I want all the money) as manager, of course I am. I want all the money I can to improve the squad.

“It’s probably really unrealistic, I’ve got no chance. I’ve got more chance of making a comeback as a player, that tells you the chances I’ve got...

“If you look at the board we’ve probably got 19 outfield players available to me. We’ve got a good number of loans out, six or seven people out on loan.

“We’ve got 19 outfield and two goalies, so it’s not a huge number and it’s something we need to look at today.”

The transfer window may already be shut, but the loan market is active, and deals involving a temporary move followed by a permanent one have become common in recent years.

On whether instant loans may be possible, Buckle said: “I don’t know, that’s not my side of it really. I’m delighted with the money that we’ve earnt from this cup run.”

But he does believe their cup exploits have brought Luton Town Football Club back into the public’s consciousness.

“I heard someone say we’ve put Luton back on the map, I think we have,” he said.

“Because when you come out of the Football League, you’re sort of out in the wilderness.

“And that’s no disrespect to non-league. Luton, the size of this club, for it to come out of the league.

“This cup run has shown people that we are still up and running. We have got a lot of pride and the players should take a massive pat on the back for doing what they’ve done in the cup.

“Because they’ve put a lot of smiles on a lot of people’s faces, what we’ve got to do now is take it into the league and be positive.

“And like I said on Saturday, we can only do that if we are all in it together and all pulling in the same direction.”

Having been in charge for almost a year now, Buckle is keen to take stock of the situation with Sweet.

He said: “How are we going to take it forward really? Which is important.

“I’ve been here nine, 10 months. It gives you a real chance to look at a club.

“That’s important for me to see where we need to improve and this being our fourth time of trying to get out of the league.

“Of course I’ve brought a lot of players to the club, but I’ve also inherited a lot.

“And there has to be a time I look at that, look at the blend of the squad and that’s something that will be discussed today.

“I think that’s fair. I think that’s fair on me and I think that’s fair on the club that you should be always looking to improve and I think that’s crucial.”

And he believes there is still plenty to improve if Luton are to book a return to the Football League.

Buckle added: “I think there is. It would be wrong of me to disclose that. I think it’s important for me to share that first.

“But certainly I was brought to the football club to try and get us back in the League.

“I done it in two full seasons at Torquay and it’s a lot of work before you can actually be ready to do it, it takes a lot of work.

“I’m a great believer that everything has to be spot on for it to happen. To get promotion out of a division as hard as this there’s a lot of things that have to be right.

“I know now at this stage in the season from looking at things this season where I want us to be, where I want us to go, what needs to change, what needs to improve, what needs to stay the same.

“So I think I’ve given you an insight there into how I think and that’s important for me to feel that it is right, that I’m doing the right things, making the right decisions and we are as a club.

“We’ve done an awful lot right this year, we’ve done an awful lot right at the back end of last season when I came in. We hit the bar at Wembley, we just missed out.”