81
Daily Mail, Thursday, August 1, 2019
I turned down
being a boss
for 10 years
EXCLUSIVE
INTERVIEW
by Matt
Barlow
G
RAEME JONES
pauses amid the
frenzy of the sea-
son’s onset, takes
the weight from his
feet for half an hour and
allows his mind to drift
back 12 months.
‘We beat England on the Satur-
day,’ says Jones, eyes widening
as he recalls how close Belgium
came to winning last summer’s
World Cup in Russia when he
was assistant manager.
‘We got the bronze medals, flew
straight back to Brussels, went
to see the King next day and had
a parade around the city, it was
packed. We ended up on the
balcony in the Grand Place. One
hell of an experience.
‘We got the bus back to the
Belgian Federation, got into our
cars and went home. And that
was it, the World Cup ended, a
brilliant nine weeks.
‘It was demanding and it was
successful — the highest-ever
finish for Belgium is one hell of
an achievement — but I can’t get
away from the feeling we wasted
an opportunity.’
The success kept them close.
Thibaut Courtois and Eden Haz-
ard moved to Real Madrid.
Romelu Lukaku is in the midst
of a transfer. Thierry Henry,
another assistant to Roberto
Martinez, was briefly at Monaco.
They remain in contact.Jones is in Luton. Perhaps not
the same glamorous destination
as some who text him, but
precisely where he wants to be
ahead of a Championship season
which starts tomorrow with his
team at home to Middlesbrough.
He has waited a decade for this
chance and, aged 49, is stepping
out of the coaching shadows.
‘I turned down five or six
manager’s jobs in the last 10
years,’ says Jones. ‘I’d seen the
impact it had on Roberto’s life
and I didn’t want that when my
two sons were growing up. Now,
they’re 20 and 22 and off doing
their own thing.
‘We were on holiday and one of
them said, “Dad, you’re always
on that phone”. I said, “Hey, I’ve
waited 10 years to get on this
phone, I’ve waited until you were
old enough to understand”.
‘I didn’t want to lose that fam-
ily time. But I did want the
opportunity, the challenge. Thistime when it came along every-
thing felt right. The timing, the
job — manager, not head coach.
‘And the club felt right. It’s a
fantastic, traditional club. When
Mick Harford took them to Wem-
bley in 2009, more than 42,000
fans went but the people at the
club and the supporters haven’t
forgotten they were non-League
not so long ago.
‘They’re realistic but ambitious.
No one’s ever got Luton to the
Premier League. That’s the chal-
lenge. And it’s one I like.’
It was Harford who led Luton
to promotion in May, taking over
when Nathan Jones left for Stoke
in January, before returning to a
role as chief recruitment officer.
Jones accepted the job in Feb-
ruary, but would not walk out on
Darren Moore and West Brom
mid-season.
Luton were confident enough
to show patience, clinched the
League One title and returned tothe second tier after 12
years. After all the turmoil
so many things feel right
at Luton, and yet the task
is enormous, fighting on a
small budget against clubs
with far greater resources.
‘People keep asking me
where Luton will finish and
I don’t know,’ says Jones.
‘My job is to get the max-
imum out of what we’ve
got. Very similar to what
I’ve done before. Totally
different but the same.’
The last time he spoke to
Martinez was July 13. ‘I wished
him a happy birthday,’ says
Jones. ‘He was 46 and I got it
wrong. I thought he was 45.’
Martinez will understand.
He will have been amused
his friend found out how non-
football details are sacrificed
when you are the manager.
OLuton Town v Middlesbrough, tomorrow
7.45pm, Sky Sports from 7pm.Fresh start: Jones is all
set at Kenilworth RoadFootball
PICTURE:
KEVIN
QUIGLEYJONES IN AT LUTON’S DEEP END
v1