Proud Mpanzu reflects on a 'lifetime achievement' after making his 400th Luton Town appearance

Hatters midfielder Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu described it as a ‘lifetime achievement as he became only the 11th Luton player to make 400 appearances for the club when coming off the bench in the Premier League against Manchester City on Saturday.

The 30-year-old had signed for the club initially on loan from West Ham United over 10 years ago under John Still, making his debut in a 0-0 FA Trophy draw against Staines on November 13, 2013. Having played seven times, he quickly turned his stint into a permanent one when agreeing to make Kenilworth Road his home in January, back in the side that won 2-1 at Macclesfield on February 11 on their way to the Skrill Premier title, ending their exile in non-league.

A fixture in the side from that moment on, during both of Nathan Jones’ spells as manager, plus Graeme Jones’ period in charge too, Mpanzu has also been a major part of the Hatters since Rob Edwards took over in November 2022, and made history in the summer by being the first man to make the journey from the Conference to the Premier League with the same club.

The ex-Hammer may have found starts harder to come by this season with Luton in the highest tier of English football, but had still made 24 appearances up until Saturday, when he was on the subs bench at the Etihad. With Town trailing 3-0, Mpanzu then came on for Luke Berry, to take his place in the record books, making it just 11 players who have done so for the Hatters, joining Luton heroes such as Mal Donaghy, Brian Stein and Ricky Hill.

Although he couldn’t affect the outcome of the result against the champions, Town going on to lose 5-1, discussing the landmark, Mpanzu said: “I’m proud of myself, proud of my team-mates, proud of the friends and family, proud of the club for keeping me here for so long. It’s about trying to keep fit and 400 games is a good milestone for any player for any club. So to do it here, Luton Town in the Premier League, it’s a real lifetime achievement and hopefully I can get more. These last five games, we’re going to put everything into it as a team and hopefully we can get more next season.”

Asked if he thought when turning up at Wheatsheaf Park to play Staines in a team containing David Viana and Tinashe Chabata with just 621 paying customers in attendance, if he would ever reach such a number, he continued: “No, I told you I was going to retire in the summer! To do that is great, one memory that will live with me, not for the scoreline, but just for the occasion. For that to happen here, it’s a real happy moment for me.

“Hopefully I get a statue outside Power Court! Not a lot of people play 400 games for one club, it’s a great achievement and hopefully I get many more. Of course, as long as I’m still fit, this season I’ve been blessed with having not too many injuries. I came off against Forest, but apart from that I’ve been injury free. Whenever the manager needs me to play I’ll play so whenever selected I’m ready."

Although he has only started 11 games in the league for Town this term, facing competition from Ross Barkley and Sambi Lokonga to earn a place in the Hatters XI, Mpanzu has been used from the bench on a further 14 occasions. With so many injuries hitting Luton hard in recent weeks, the midfielder has been able to maintain his fitness to ensure he has been available for every single match-day squad that Edwards has selected in the top flight.

The manager recently labelled the ‘special’ midfielder as a ‘club legend' for what has given to Town in over a decade of service, discussing just how big a role he plays around the club even if not featuring in the first team at times. Mpanzu himself said: “I’d hope to think so. You’ve got to be ready even if you’re not playing, or not starting, there’s a role to play.

"Everyone’s got to play their role accordingly, whatever needs to be done I’m willing to do that. So to be still around is great for me and hopefully the club can go on to bigger and better things. Even if I’ve not been in the squad or in the starting 11, you’ve got to come on and make a difference. Everyone’s been doing that and now we’ve got the last five games to prove to everyone that we do belong in the Premier League.”

Boss Edwards was also thrilled to be able to give the midfielder his opportunity to make history, as he added: “I’m delighted for Pells, he is a huge figure for the club. To play 400 games for any team is special, it doesn’t happen very often in this day and age, so a nice moment for him. He'll be disappointed with the result of course, we all are, but to do it against the treble winners is a nice way for him to get his 400 games.”