 There was an immediate turnaround in Luton's playing style and results under Buckle's management with the club securing a place in the play-offs by picking up 14 points from six games, keeping five clean sheets in the process.He led the club to the play-off final at Wembley Stadium after a 3–2 aggregate win against Wrexham in the semi-final, but lost 2–1 to York City in the decisive final game.After the defeat, Buckle announced his intention to trim the Luton squad, which had played out the 2011–12 season using 34 contracted professionals, and followed this up by allowing 12 players to leave.