Matt Bloomfield Committed to Sustaining Wycombe’s Momentum

Wycombe Wanderers manager Matt Bloomfield, who has secured 45 victories in his 94 games at the helm, has dismissed any notion of the club “getting above their station” despite their ascent to the top of League One. The Chairboys have achieved eight consecutive wins across all competitions, with their sole defeat in the last 17 matches coming against Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup. This impressive run of form is considered among the best by any team in Europe, placing them two points ahead of Birmingham City in advance of their Saturday fixture against Lincoln. Speaking to the BBC’s Monday Night Club, Bloomfield stated, “The expectation from the new ownership was to try and build on last season’s 10th-place finish which was above the budget value then.” He added, “We knew it was going to be extremely tough but I was never going to be happy with just being in and around it.” Bloomfield further elaborated on his ambition: “I wanted to try and push us as far as we could go, try and build on what we did last year, try and evolve it a little bit further and see where it took us without putting ourselves under too much pressure because the expectation and the spending power that there is elsewhere in the league, it would have been naïve and irresponsible to do that.” Matt Bloomfield dedicated 19 years to Wycombe as a player, participating in 557 games after joining Adams Park from Ipswich Town in 2003, and remained with the club for the entirety of his playing career before transitioning to the coaching staff under his predecessor, Gareth Ainsworth. He departed to manage Colchester in September 2022 but returned to assume managerial duties at Wycombe less than 18 months later, following Ainsworth’s move to QPR. The 40-year-old manager explained his rationale for not simply waiting for the Wycombe opportunity without first proving himself elsewhere. He asserted, “I needed to go away to Colchester and have my own go at being a manager. I needed to prove to myself and everyone around me that I was capable of doing this job.” Bloomfield continued, “It was about making that challenge for myself, go to Colchester, try and stand on my own two feet, risk failing, try and learn some lessons as quickly as possible, with the belief that if the job ever became available, if Gareth moved on, then I was available to come back and take it.” He expressed gratitude, saying, “I felt so fortunate that Dmitri (Halajko) and Robbie (Cowling), the sporting director and owner, gave me that opportunity (at Colchester) and I’ll be forever grateful to them.” Bloomfield confessed to moments of questioning his decision to return to Wycombe. Ainsworth had managed the team for 10-and-a-half years, guiding the Chairboys to the Championship. Bloomfield remarked, “We’ve seen a number of examples across the football pyramid where following a manager of that longevity was always going to be a tough act to follow.” He added, “There’s been some tough moments but I guess it’s about believing in what you’re trying to do, trying to follow on from the good work he did and trying to evolve it to a place that represented me. That wasn’t easy to do, it’s an ongoing process.” Bloomfield conveyed his disappointment regarding the postponement of last Saturday’s match against Huddersfield Town due to international call-ups, as his team was keen to maintain their momentum. Nevertheless, he noted, “It was a chance to take stock of where we’re at, what have we done well this season, what do we need to keep improving upon, and how can we attack the next block of games with the energy we need to.” Wycombe’s current impressive form follows initial league defeats to Wrexham and Birmingham in their first two games of the season. However, Bloomfield was convinced by their performances in those matches that they were on the correct path. Richard Kone currently leads Wycombe’s scoring with 10 goals. Bloomfield stated, “I don’t think there’s any disgrace in losing to those two teams, because of the investment they’ve made and the quality of the squads they have, but both both games were 3-2 and we came out thinking we weren’t far away. We just needed to make a couple of minor tweaks, which we did.” He further explained, “We had a good second half of last season when we got 30 points in 23 games so we felt we were in a half-decent place, we made some good signings over the summer, so we knew we weren’t going to be too far away. “It was just about trying to start building our season and luckily for us we’ve been able to make some footprints in the right direction.” Bloomfield concluded, “We’re still just trying to move ourselves forward – we’ve had a good start but there’s so much football still to play and we’re certainly not getting above our station or ahead of where we are.” Bloomfield is set to reunite with Ainsworth, who has recently been appointed head coach of Shrewsbury Town, when their respective teams compete in Shropshire on 14 December. Reflecting on their shared history, Bloomfield commented, “When he first signed for QPR, he was my room-mate, then he was my captain, then my manager, the I was on his coaching staff, so we’ve been through a lot together.” He added, “He’s someone I respect immensely. It’ll be really strange on the day but what I do know is that everyone will be at it for three points.”