Luton Town’s 25/26 season may have ultimately ended in disappointment, but a far better second half of the campaign has left the Hatters raring to go again.
That’s how former midfielder Robert Snodgrass feels. He made 11 appearances for the Hatters in 2022, including both Championship play-off semi-final encounters against Huddersfield Town.
While the Hatters were unsuccessful in that campaign, they won promotion to the Premier League 12 months later via the same method. By that point, Snodgrass was left without a club, having departed his final club, Heart of Midlothian, just a month earlier.
However, the 38-year-old, speaking exclusively to Football Lowdown, still keeps tabs on the final English club of his career.
“Luton were my last club, and I have followed them since. I like what Jack Wilshire is doing; he has already won a trophy, so this gives the club and the fans confidence in what he is doing. He has the players on board; they were so close to securing a play-off spot. You never know what could have happened after that, given the momentum the team were on.”
As mentioned, it’s been a topsy-turvy few years for the Bedfordshire outfit. After winning that historic promotion to the Premier League, Luton, despite a closely fought battle against the drop, ultimately returned to the Championship immediately. However, there was further surprise in the campaign that followed, when the Hatters suffered a second successive relegation into League One.
It was a nightmare campaign, firstly for Rob Edwards, and then Matt Bloomfield, who lost his job at the Bedfordshire outfit last October. With as many losses as wins from their first 11 matches, a change was needed to rectify the losing pattern that Luton had seemingly developed. In came Jack Wilshire. The table from his introduction paints a different picture, with only four third-tier clubs taking more points since the former Arsenal man took charge at Kenilworth Road.
Snodgrass sees the potential for Wilshere’s squad to push on next season, as they look to move forward from the disappointment of missing out on a top-six finish last term.
“He has good players. I have already seen some good recruitment going on as we approach the new season. All is looking good at Luton right now for a big challenge in League One. Liam Walsh is a player who can do well for Luton next season, along with Jordan Clark. They will have a good squad to be able to tackle this league and really push for the play-offs.”
With another open League One anticipated next season, expect there to be some surprise packages fighting at the top end of the division once again. However, the Hatters should be among the favourites who do deliver in the race for promotion to the second tier.
Snodgrass was talking to us courtesy of William Hill, who have great World Cup 2026 winner odds.