Former Gunner Macey hoping to test himself against Premier League side West Ham in Luton's final friendly

Keeper relishing the prospect of welcoming a ‘top team’ to Kenilworth Road
Luton could find themselves up coming against West Ham's England international Declan Rice this afternoonLuton could find themselves up coming against West Ham's England international Declan Rice this afternoon
Luton could find themselves up coming against West Ham's England international Declan Rice this afternoon

Town keeper Matt Macey is relishing the chance of going up against a Premier League side in West Ham United this afternoon, if he gets the nod from boss Nathan Jones.

The Hatters finish their pre-season campaign when taking on a Hammers side who finished seventh in the top flight last term, also reaching the Europa League semi-finals too.

Boss David Moyes has current England internationals Declan Rice and Jarred Bowen in his ranks, while splashed out £30m on Rennes defender Nayef Aguerd this summer and around £10m for ex-Hatters loanee Flynn Downes from Swansea City.

Macey, who although came through at Arsenal when he was younger, didn’t ever make it on to the field for a league game for the Gunners, said: “It’s exciting playing a Premier League team.

"Personally I haven’t had that option too many times in my career, so it's always fun to test yourself against a top team.

“They’re a big Premier League team, a top team, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Although not playing himself, first team coach Alan Sheehan believes it will be a good chance for the Hatters squad to see just where they are at going into the new campaign, as he continued: “It’s the last pre-season game before we go into the bread and butter.

“Different players will get a run-out and some lads from tonight (2-0 win at Peterborough) will capitalise on more minutes, but it’s going to be a really competitive game.

"They’ve got some really, really top quality players, so it’s great to be able to test yourself when we’re in such a good place too.”

Luton will go into the game on the back of five straight victories during their warm-up schedule, seeing off Hitchin Town, NK Bravo, Gillingham, Northampton Town and Peterborough United.

On whether victories actually count that much ahead of the serious stuff, Macey said: “I’ve been at clubs where you’ve had a mixed pre-season, or you’ve won every game and results wise it doesn't really say too much about how your form’s going to be going into the season.

“But I think everyone would take wins.

"It builds momentum, builds confidence, obviously performances are key and minutes for everyone is important.

“It (Wednesday night) was another win, we want to build that momentum going into the season.

"We’ve won every game so far, a couple of goals and a clean sheet, happy days.”

However, there was no hiding the fact that Macey’s real attention was drawn to the next time Town will take the Kenilworth Road pitch, when Birmingham City are the visitors for the Championship opener on Saturday, July 30.

He added: “It (pre-season) has been quite quick, a week quicker than would normally happen, but everyone’s a bit bored of pre-season at some point.

“They just want to get on and crack on with the big games now, so the sooner the better.”