FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - League One - Luton Town v Wigan Athletic - Kenilworth Road, Luton, Britain - August 19, 2025 Luton Town manager Matt Bloomfield Action Images/Andrew Couldridge/File Photo
(Reuters) -Luton Town have sacked manager Matt Bloomfield after nine months in charge in the wake of Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Stevenage that left them struggling in 11th place in League One.
The firing is the latest low for a team that have been in free-fall since relegation from the Premier League in 2024.
They went down from the Championship at the end of last season, marking back-to-back relegations.
"Performances and results from the opening 11 matches of the current campaign in League One have fallen below the levels expected," the third-tier club said in a statement.
"With two training weeks ahead of the next league match, the process of appointing a new manager is now under way, which will be led by a committee involving members from the executive team, recruitment, football staff and the board."
Academy coach and former Luton player Alex Lawless is in interim charge ahead of Tuesday's EFL Trophy game at Cambridge United, as Bloomfield's assistant Richard Thomas, first-team coach Lee Harrison and analyst Ben Cirne have also departed.
The 41-year-old Bloomfield's sacking comes 10 days after he had received the public backing of Chief Executive Gary Sweet following their 3-1 loss at Lincoln City earlier in September.
Sweet called Bloomfield "incredibly capable, resilient and determined" and praised him for creating a "fantastic environment" at Luton, but said he would have "no qualms" about making a management change if their results did not improve.
The Hatters earned a brilliant promotion to the top flight under Rob Edwards in 2023 by beating Coventry City in the playoff final at Wembley.
Despite being favourites for the drop the next season, they were only relegated on the final day of the 2023-24 campaign.
Edwards was sacked in January with the club embroiled in another relegation battle, leading to Bloomfield's appointment.
(Reporting by Lori Ewing; Editing by Ken Ferris)
