Graeme Jones felt the time was right to take the step into a senior management role after taking over at League One champions Luton on a three-year deal.
The 49-year-old has previously served as assistant boss to Roberto Martinez at Swansea, Wigan, Everton and Belgium, as well as number two to Darren Moore at West Brom, but had never accepted a full managerial position before.
However, it was announced in February Jones had agreed to become Hatters’ manager, taking over from Mick Harford at the end of the season.
And, as he faced the media for the first time, the new boss admitted timing was everything in his decision to move up a rung.
“I’ve had many offers,” he told Luton’s website. “I could have done this on maybe five or six occasions, and I think timing in life is everything.
“I had a young family at the time and I’d sat in the passenger seat with Roberto for 12 years. I’d seen how much of an infringement that was on his personal life, and I didn’t really want that at that time. That was one side of the story.
“The other side was that I was heavily involved and committed with Roberto and Darren Moore, and once I’ve committed to something, I give it everything I’ve got. My two sons are 20 and 22 now, they’ve got their own lives, so the timing was correct for me.”
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