HATTER SONNY IN VOW TO SHINE ON
Skipper: ‘We can beat drop’
IT TOOK Sonny Bradley six years to get back to the Championship – and now the Luton Town captain doesn’t plan on going anywhere without a fight.
Bradley made two appearances in the second tier with Hull in 2012 before being released by his hometown club the following year.
Stints at Portsmouth, Crawley and Plymouth followed before the centre-back captained Luton to the League One title last season.
Battle
But with the Hatters now in a battle for survival, four points from safety ahead of the weekend’s trip to Charlton, Bradley is refusing to let all his efforts go to waste.
“I have worked hard to get back into the Championship,” said Bradley. “Now I am finally here I am really enjoying it and don’t want to go back down to League One.
“At times I have felt that I might be slightly out of my comfort zone, but I have relished it and believe I am growing as a player.
“From the start of the season until now I feel I have improved, so I want Championship football to continue for myself and Luton Town.”
After the heartbreak of leaving the Tigers back in 2013, Bradley slipped as low as League Two with Crawley and then Plymouth, but he always knew he would claw his way back up the pyramid.
“It hasn’t been a straight path,” said the 28-year-old. “You see some players who drop out, have a good couple of seasons in League One or Two and they get bought by a Championship club. That didn’t happen to me.
“I had to find a different way of getting there and going up as champions with Luton almost seemed like the perfect way to do it.
“I am delighted to be back, but now I am here I want to stay.”
And Bradley believes that optimism is growing within the squad after a sudden upturn in form.
After Cardiff condemned Luton to a ninth defeat in 11 league matches earlier this month, the Hatters responded by beating Sheffield Wednesday and Middlesbrough in the space of four days.
“It gets to a point where you are looking at the table thinking ‘We are really in trouble now’,” Bradley continued.
Realistic
“I didn’t play the Cardiff game, but we got beat 1-0 at home and Stoke won. That’s when the gap became big.
“If things had gone a different way against Wednesday or Middlesbrough, I think we would still be looking at it thinking it’s a huge task. But all of a sudden it seems more realistic that we can stay up.”
Luton host promotion-chasing Brentford in midweek before facing fellow strugglers Stoke in a “make-or-break” clash next Saturday.
Having been relegated with Crawley in 2016, Bradley does not want another demotion on his resume and has called on his team-mates to step up to the plate.
“We are going to have to recover quickly because we have got Brentford on Tuesday,” added Bradley. “We have got a point to prove after losing 7-0 to them last time out and then we have got a quick turnaround again to face Stoke.
“That could be a make-orbreak game and as we are at Kenilworth Road we will fancy our chances.
“When you are battling at the bottom it’s similar to when you are trying to get promoted as you feel there is pressure on you to perform in every game.
“I have been there before so I know what it takes to churn out performances. It is about getting as many players as we can to perform week-in, weekout as we can’t afford to carry anyone between now and the end of the season.
“If we play with attitude and desire I fancy us to stay up.”