Hatters captain Bradley understood the decision behind Reading omission

Luton defender Sonny Bradley felt it was the right decision to be left out by manager Graeme Jones for the Reading game last month.
Hatters captain Sonny BradleyHatters captain Sonny Bradley
Hatters captain Sonny Bradley

The centre half had been a surprise omission on the team sheet at the Madejski Stadium, with Jones stating afterwards that Bradley had needed to be ‘taken out of the firing line.’

After Town went down to a 3-0 reverse, the former Plymouth defender then returned once the international break had finished, for the clashes with Leeds and Charlton, as Hatters suffered a narrow defeat before defeating the Addicks.

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When asked about missing the game, Bradley said: “I recognised leading up to the Reading game, the previous three games before that, it was a case of, for me personally, I sat down with the manager and had a really good chat, as I felt like I hadn’t been at my best.

“We went through quite a lot where I can improve and he just said I needed a break, I shouldn’t be playing.

“I understood it. I came back against Leeds and I thought I put in a solid, honest performance and the same against Charlton, so I felt myself again."

However, Bradley was then part of Town’s defence once more at the weekend for a nightmare trip to Brentford, the Hatters hammered 7-0.

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They had been trailing by just one before the half hour, conceding four more in the next quarter of an hour as they were put to the sword by a rampant Bees' side.

Bradley added: “It was a crazy 15 minutes, there’s no excuse for it, as it's not acceptable for myself and for the football club.

“There’s enough experience in our team and enough know-how to recognise that at 1-0 down and up against it, you have to really dig in and make sure you get to half time and you’re still in the game.

“We haven’t done that and we’re going to have watch the full game again and recognise what we can do to prevent that happening again in the future, because this division’s ruthless, it’s relentless.

“We’re going to go to other teams, and travel away where it’s going to be just as difficult, if not more difficult than it has been today.

“We needed to recognise a way that it doesn’t happen again.”