Luton's Sonny Bradley ready for Championship restart

Anglia
Football
Luton Town
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Tuesday 2 June 2020 at 12:10pm

Luton Town captain Sonny Bradley Credit: PA

Luton Town captain Sonny Bradley says he has no qualms about the SkyBet EFL's proposed restart date of June 20 for the Championship.

The Hatters, six points short of safety, are keen to play the season to a finish in their attempts to retain their status in English Football's second tier.

The proposed date, however, hasn't been met positively by some of Luton's Championship rivals, including Queens Park Rangers and Charlton Athletic.

Queens Park Rangers' CEO Lee Hoos said they 'vehemently oppose' the scheduled return date, adding 'We are absolutely appalled".

But Bradley, speaking during a Zoom video conference with the media, says the proposed restart date hasn't produced a negative reaction at Luton.

Bradley reckons the surprise return of Nathan Jones as manager can work in Luton's favour in the battle to beat the drop, describing the decision as 'a positive move for the football club", one which 'makes sense" .

Around 16 players signed by Jones before his departure to Stoke are still with the Hatters, and Bradley believes it won't take long for the others to embrace his way of working.

And having club legend Mick Harford as Jones' assistant is just as valuable according to Bradley, who also praised his role during the lockdown.

Harford was given the role of "relationship manager" between the board, staff and the playing squad on footballing matters, following the club's decision to part company with Graeme Jones in April.

Luton Town legend Mick Harford who'll work as assistant to manager Nathan Jones Credit: PA

"Mick's the sort of man you can just pick up the phone to, and have a conversation with about anything. "There have been times in this lockdown period which Mick's rung... he rings me every week... and we just have a conversation about what's going on in our lives over the past few days. "It doesn't always have to be about football. That's what Mick does, that's what Mick brings to the table. And I'm pretty sure he has that relationship with everybody at the football club, every player. "And it's always nice to know that there's somebody there on the other side of the phone that you can speak to about any of your problems. "He's overlooked the physical side of the training and has been involved with it, but more importantly he's just been there as a friend really, someone we can speak to and take advice from."