It’s Thursday lunchtime at Luton Town’s training ground and Chris Powell is collecting footballs which have bounced over a hedge.
He throws them back over, bags them up and heads for the boot room as the rain begins to fall.
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“I love it, actually, because I’m not in the firing line anymore,” he laughs.
Powell arrived at Luton last October as assistant to manager Jack Wilshere.
It is the latest chapter in a 40-year football career, which started aged 16 as an apprentice scholar at Crystal Palace and has since included promotions, sackings, playing for England, a European Championship final and being awarded an MBE.
He is the calm, experienced head supporting a young and hungry manager.
“For someone so young, his attributes are very, very good,” Powell says of Wilshere.
“He takes on board everything. He’s got a strong mind, he knows what he wants to see.
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“He wants to lead from the front but he’s not afraid to ask, and that’s the best thing.
“But it’s not going to happen immediately, so the big thing is to hold tight when things are not going your way, because it’s a process.
“If the manager is angry, you don’t follow it up with angry words, you follow up with support and a bit of know-how.
“There are times when I can give him a helping hand, but there’s also times where I go, yeah, that’s the right way and something I haven’t gone through.”
Wilshere and Powell took over at Luton Town in October 2025 [Getty Images]
Powell has ‘an aura’ – Wilshere
Wilshere is profuse in his praise of Powell.
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“He has an aura about him, someone you can trust, like a mentor,” Wilshere told BBC Look East.
“There’s not a day that goes by when I am not asking him about a certain situation or a player. He always has the right answers.
“The tough moments are when I really need Chris and his experience. How do you deal with the media, the message you send to the fans?
“When we first came in, we felt the players needed a lot of love, they were in a tough moment.
“We focused on a few things around the environment, we made it lighter, and slowly we increased the demand physically and mentally.
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“That’s where Chris’ input has been invaluable. We have more of an identity now.”
Back in the boot room, Powell unveils a huge orange Luton Town flag.
“I’ve been waiting for this,” he says proudly. “I’m going to find somewhere to pin it up.
“This is us. This is our identity. “
Wilshere and Powell took a club which was struggling for form and a new identity since their double relegation from the Premier League and the Championship.
They are currently just outside the play-offs in League One, but progress hasn’t been easy, with form away from home especially frustrating.
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“We have to turn around the negativity that’s happened sadly over past two years,” Powell explains.
“We’ve just got to stick together when we have the bad moments and equally when we have the good moments, to enjoy them.
“Sometimes you have to change things and it’s not always easy because people don’t like change.
“It takes time, but people have to buy into it, to listen and take on board exactly what’s required. It’s what we do, how we act, how we behave on the pitch and off the pitch.
“Resilience is part of your culture, it’s about being a group and being together, and when things go against you, you stick together even more.”
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Learning from Southgate – and Ted Lasso fame
Chris Powell has played and coached in professional football for 40 years [Getty Images]
One person who taught him about culture was former England manager Gareth Southgate.
Powell was an assistant coach to Southgate, taking England to the Euros final in 2020 and a World Cup quarter-final in 2022.
“Gareth definitely was the architect of making players more open and enjoying their time together and wanting to be there,” says Powell.
“We never got over that hurdle with the Euros and the World Cup, but I’m very proud of that time, to actually work along elite players, and it can only help you when you move into club football.”
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So how different is it preparing for Burton Albion away in League One compared to the final of the Euros?
“It’s not that different,” says Powell with a smile.
“Football is football, same pitch, same training, the quality and level of player is different, but the preparation should be the same.
“Ultimately, it’s about us, and that was the same with the national team. It’s more pressure of course, I don’t think the media coverage is the same, but you approach it the same.”
Powell’s life changed in bizarre fashion when he was recruited as a pundit in the television show Ted Lasso.
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He starred for three seasons and has been contacted about a fourth, but admits he is unlikely to be involved.
“Everyone knows I’m not an actor,” he says.
“They wanted someone with experience of managing and coaching and they saw me doing some punditry work, and it just blew up because of lockdown and Covid.
“Oddly enough, I get recognised now more for Ted Lasso than my playing days.
“It was a brilliant experience and one that serves me for life.”
From the bizarre to the brutal. One thing that has never gone away is racism in football.
During his playing career, Powell was subjected to vile abuse so bad his parents stopped attending matches. He later supported England players abused during the Euros final in 2020.
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Last month, Powell was again targeted with racist abuse on social media following a Luton game.
“It’s never going to go away and sadly, with the growth of social media, it’s very easy now to voice your opinion and you can do it in a very cowardly way,” he says.
“Sadly, we’ve got experience of it at this football club aimed at players and me in January.
“I’m not on social media so I didn’t see it, but it still hurts.
“Football tries. I don’t think the way it’s dealt with is a deterrent.
“Obviously it’s a crime now, which is a massive move forward, but will it ever leave us? You’re not born that way, you’re taught that way and that’s the biggest shame of it.”
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For now, Powell’s infectious personality is helping turn the dial at Luton.
The first to arrive and last to leave the training pitch, he’s hungry to develop players and create another legacy.
“I love this game, it engrosses me,” he says.
“I am very proud of the journey I’ve had and it hasn’t ended yet.”
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