After an unbeaten pre-season, captain Sonny Bradley is determined to take that form into the league campaign and build on last term’s sixth place finish.
With five wins and a draw – the latter coming against Premier League outfit West Ham last weekend – Bradley hopes that the team can make a winning start once again this year.
Speaking to the Luton Town Supporters’ Trust podcast as part of the EFL Season Launch, the 30-year-old shared why he believes that results still hold the utmost importance in pre-season.
“We have a built-in mentality at this club where we always want to win. No matter who we play, no matter where it is, we want to win that game and that comes from the manager. He sets that precedent and I think the boys embrace it.
“If you watch the West Ham game, first of all I think we competed really well because they are a top club in the Premier League. They didn’t have too many chances, they didn’t break us down too many times and all the way to the end of the game, we were pushing to get that goal because we didn’t want to lose.”
Seven new players have arrived to bolster Nathan Jones’ options going forward this season and Bradley understands the importance of making sure everyone is in sync with the club’s mentality.
“The moment we take our foot off the gas, we will get caught out. It is a difficult league to play in and the club have bolstered the squad, they’ve given us more depth for that exact reason – for us to kick on.”
“If I was to sit here and say that because we finished sixth, now we deserve to be in the top two, I would be lying to you. Getting into those top two places will be very, very difficult. Over the past few years, we have made huge leaps.
“I have spoken about it in the past but for me, getting out of League One was great, staying up in the Championship was fantastic. Then to jump to 12th the season after, that is a huge step and we deserved to be there because we evolved, and we got better.
“Then last season, we’ve stepped it up again. The players we are bringing in are better, the squad is bigger and stronger, and we’re more comfortable in the league. We’ve got more experience in the league and to jump up to sixth – a play-off spot – from 12th, I don’t think people understand how big of a jump that is.
“Obviously going into this season, I feel like there is probably a little bit more pressure on us now because we’ve set the bar so high. There is a bit of pressure on us to go again. This is my fifth year here and we’ve improved every year, year in, year out. Going into this season, to finish above sixth and to improve again will be extremely difficult but saying that, that is our ambition.”
Town’s league campaign kicks-off on Saturday when they welcome Birmingham City to Kenilworth Road, which Bradley identified as an important fixture not only to start the season in the right way, but because there is a score to settle.
“If I could pick one fixture to really kick-off the season, apart from playing a certain team at home which might have topped it, this is the fixture that I wanted. Both fixtures last season I didn’t play in, I had to watch which was difficult for me, but I feel like there is a score to settle.
“In a way, I give a team talk each game and for me the team talk is already done. I don’t need to say too much, we know not only how important it is to start well on the first game of the season but it’s important to show a team in the past that have beaten you that we’ve improved now, we’re a better team and it’s not going to be as easy as it was last season. For me it looks like the perfect fixture.”
