After a summer of upheaval from manager Joe Kinnear, the club comfortably secured automatic promotion by finishing in second place in the league, 18 points ahead of their nearest rivals.

The 2001–02 season is also notable for Kinnear creating the nucleus of the successful Luton team of future years: centre-back Chris Coyne, midfielders Kevin Nicholls and Ahmet Brković, and striker Steve Howard would all go on to prove themselves as fully adept at playing at a higher level for the club.

Instability and inexperience had proved to be Luton's downfall in the previous season with two former players, Ricky Hill and Lil Fuccillo, winning just four out of 26 games as managers and ultimately contributing to the club's relegation from Division Two.

[1][2] An under-performing squad, expensive yet underwhelming signings and poor quality, untested players from abroad left the club languishing deep in the relegation zone.

Ex-Wimbledon boss Joe Kinnear was appointed, initially, as director of football on 8 February 2001, but his first act in the job was to immediately demote Fuccillo to an assistant role and install himself as manager.

Kinnear began building his own squad over a month before the 2000–01 season had even finished, releasing players he deemed as surplus to requirements and notably signing striker Steve Howard for £50,000 from Northampton Town in March.

[4][5] Former Luton Town striker and fan-favourite Mick Harford was installed as first-team coach in early July, as Kinnear began to overhaul his backroom staff as well as playing squad.

Winger Adrian Forbes and midfielder Paul Hughes were signed from Norwich City and Southampton respectively, whilst the only player to leave was Finnish defender Petri Helin.

Meanwhile, members of the playing staff continued to change – right-back Ian Hillier was signed on a three-month loan from Tottenham Hotspur in mid-August and centre-back Russell Perrett was drafted in on a free transfer from Cardiff City.

[11] Striker Dean Crowe signed on a one-month loan on 28 September from Stoke City after news that leading scorer Carl Griffiths was ruled out through injury; later revealed to be a fractured leg that would keep him out for the rest of the season.

An outbreak of flu led to the cancellation of Luton's game at Kidderminster Harriers, which, combined with injuries, left Kinnear with fewer than eleven players to choose from.

A swift return to their early season form left Luton safely in the automatic promotion places by mid-January, thanks to an eight-game unbeaten streak and a strong scoring run from Dean Crowe.

Matthew Taylor, naturally a left-back, but pushed forward by Kinnear often, won the PFA Third Division player of the year award, scoring eleven goals in total.

[20] Joe Kinnear immediately set about keeping his squad for the next season, securing contract extensions for Kevin Nicholls, David Bayliss, Alan Neilson, Ahmet Brković and Paul Hughes.