Former centre half elated to see Kenilworth Road back in the Premier League

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Former Luton defender Paul Elliott believes getting things right off the field has led to the Hatters 'amazing success story', with his old club working their way back up to the Premier League from non-league in under a decade.

The ex-centre half was part of the Town team who were last in the top flight some 40 years ago, having been signed for around PS100,000 from Division Two outfit Charlton Athletic back in 1983.

Playing 73 games and scoring four goals in a two year period for the Hatters, he was then sold to Sunday's opponents Aston Villa for a fee of PS400,000.

Former Luton defender Paul Elliott scores for the Hatters in a 1-0 victory at QPR - pic: Hatters HeritageFollowing his departure in 1985, Luton then went through some massive highs and even more dramatic lows, winning the Littlewoods Cup in 1988, before going on to drop out of Division One in 1992 and then fall out of the Football League itself in 2009.

Having spent five long years in the Conference, Town then made their way back in 2014 and in no time at all, won another three promotions to take their place in the top flight once more this term.

Elliott believes having the correct people in place in the boardroom has paved the way for the achievements on the pitch, as he said: "I'm delighted with the amazing success story of Luton.

"They've gone through the dark road of adversity and they've come out of it, and that's brilliant.

"I've been very impressed with the CEO Gary Sweet.

"I've seen it at my old club Charlton, where the ownership model had no Corporate Governance nor diversity of opinion to challenge or be challenged.

"Unfortunately that's the negative bi-product if there is one individual in any club who has full control in the absence of understanding the business of football and not surrounding himself with the right executives to lead the club and be held to account.

"Hopefully they're in recovery, but Luton have recovered.

"It's a wonderful achievement for them to get in the Premier League and I'm so proud of the club.

"Mick Harford I know is a great guy, so I'm just proud of how the club has re-emerged."

Winning the Championship play-offs last term unlocked a treasure chest for the Hatters that saw them pocket around PS100m from reaching the top flight.

With near enough PS20m invested in bolstering the squad, Luton's board made sure they kept enough back to finance a new ground at Power Court, also shelling out the PS13m needed to upgrade Kenilworth Road for top flight football.

Although Town are naturally desperate to stay up, the fact that they aren't risking everything financially to try and achieve that is exactly the right tactic in Elliott's mind, who himself is a director at his boyhood club of Charlton now.

He continued: "Now they've got the blueprint, they've got the TV money, you don't throw money at it trying to stay up or trying to get there.

"Remember it was Middlesbrough and Sunderland who also were in semis, two giant north east clubs but they missed out with a Luton and Coventry final, the two less fashionable clubs in terms of fanbase.

"You buy the right players at the right price, invest in the infrastructure, the stadium, the academy, as that's the longer game.

"You've seen too many clubs try and throw money at staying up and it's just cost them.

"Look at the big clubs in League One, you've got Reading, Sheffield Wednesday, Derby, former Premier League clubs, that's not the formula, so I respect the prudence shown by Sweet.

"He's a sensible pragmatic guy and he gets it, the long term stability and security of Luton, not just one season in the Premier League.

"If they can stay up they get another in excess of 100m, so to get a second season, and then you've got that, it just gives the club all the stability that it needs.

"The parachute money obviously helps especially if you have the appropriate ratio of salaries to turnover.

"It's so competitive, it's not about staying up to become a leading Premier League club, it's about understanding where you sit in the division and managing expectations of supporters.

"I'd love Luton to stay up for two years and more, as that finance, if it's used correctly, would stabilise the club for the next 10 years."

Meanwhile, Town are looking to move out of the stadium they have known and loved for almost 120 years to a brand new ground at Power Court.

Elliott knows leaving will be tough for the supporters, but understands it has to happen to boost the club for the years to come.

He added: "It's critical, it's the long-term.

"You have to look at the bigger picture, the stability and also the diverse income generation at the new stadium, they're the things that matter.

"That's how the business model works.

"They'll get 20,000, it connects with the local community and there's a real sustainable business model that they can create.

"They've been historically restrictive in the income of being at Kenilworth Road.

"Emotionally it will be heart wrenching, but, sportingly, societally, commercially and financially it will be a lot better in the long term."