Luton Town v AFC Wimbledon: From Premier League to opening night in League One

Following a respectable showing in the Premier League in which the Hatters finished 18th, six points adrift of safety, last season began with a lot of promise but quickly descended into a nightmare.

Having been in charge of arguably the biggest day in the club’s history less than two years before, Rob Edwards left Kenilworth Road with Luton 20th in the Championship and on the back of four straight defeats in January.

Matt Bloomfield was brought in, having impressively guided unfancied Wycombe Wanderers up to second in League One and into an unexpected promotion battle with big spenders Birmingham City and Wrexham.

The Chairboys would ultimately fall short and lose to Charlton Athletic in the play-offs, while Bloomfield was unable to keep Luton in the Championship as they went down 5-3 to West Bromwich Albion on the final day of the season.

Seven players have left this summer, including the likes of Amari’i Bell and Alfie Doughty, while eight have been brought in as they prepare for an unexpected return to League One.

“It looks like horses for courses; players who know the division or have played in the division higher – players to do a job, which is to get straight back up,” Oxley said.

“There can’t be any less ambition than that. They’ve got to get back to the Championship. There’s a lot of players there Matt Bloomfield either knows through Wycombe connections on ones he feels can do the job.”