Cambridge United boss Bonner appears to rule himself out of Luton job

U’s chief concentrating on his task at the Abbey Stadium

Cambridge United boss Mark Bonner appears to have ruled himself out of the running for the managerial vacancy at Kenilworth Road.

The 36-year-old joined the U’s in 2011 working in the club’s academy, before taking roles as assistant head coach and then named in caretaker change, appointed as head coach in March 2020.

He led United to promotion from League Two in the 2020-21 campaign, as Cambridge finished 14th in their first season back in League One, while this term they are sitting in 18th place.

Bonner is currently 6/1 with SkyBet to replace Nathan Jones at Luton after the Welshman left for Premier League Southampton on Thursday, but speaking to the Cambridge News, when asked if the Town job would interest him, he said: “No, this is the job that interests me, the job I’ve got.

“I think everybody knows where I am at the minute, and we are midway through something.

“We’ve probably come further faster than anybody thought, but we’ve also got quite a long way to go.

“I’m somewhere like 13th or 14th longest serving out of 92 managers, which is actually ridiculous, because it’s not even three years.

“We’re into something. We’ve got really sensible people running the club, unbelievably committed people driving the club.

“We know we’ve got a lot to do to get better, but we have come a long way as well, and we’re going to keep pushing it forward and seeing if we can build something that lasts. I think that’s important.

“For me, if my time ends here, either by my choice or the club’s, I want to make sure that when that happens, the club is built to last and the football department is built to last, and I don’t feel we’re there yet at all.

“This is my club that I’m 100 per cent committed to, and we’re going to make sure that we leave it better when my time’s up.”