Hatters midfielder Mpanzu calls on Town fans to 'have belief' ahead of Luton's Premier League campaign

History-maker Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu has called on the Hatters fans to ‘have belief’ in him and his team-mates as they prepare for their first ever season in the Premier League.

Luton kick off their campaign at Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday with not many outside of Kenilworth Road giving Rob Edwards’ side a chance of survival, bar the 3,001 Town fans who will be making the trip to the south coast for their first top flight clash in over 30 years, plus those supporting them from afar.

Asked for a message to those heading to the Amex and every other match the Hatters are involved in this term, Mpanzu said: “Just support, and have belief in us.

“If they are singing their hearts out throughout the 90 minutes we’re going to be hearing that and it's going to be helping us.

“We know that Luton’s away support is great, they come in their numbers, they always come and support us well and hopefully we send them home cheering on the trains or the buses that they’ve taken.

“Hopefully they support us throughout the whole 90 minutes and we can put in a performance that they are proud of.

“It’s going to be really good. The first season for Luton in the Premier League, and for a lot of us in the squad, it should be exciting.

“It’s going to be real, real tough, there are some tough teams in the league, from first to 20th.

"We’re going to have to prove our worth, our wits, hopefully have a positive season and be in the Premier League next season.

"We know it’s going to be tough, but we’ve got to do what we can.

“The fans are going to support us all season, so we’ve got to have them sing our names, sing Luton Town and hopefully we can have a successful season.”

Having been at the club for a decade now, on whether he had noticed an extra excitement since the squad returned for training, Mpanzu continued: “Not really, a lot of pre-seasons are the same.

"You’ve got to work hard, tactically you’ve got to be acute.

"Rob has drilled that into us, we’ve got to make sure that we’re compact, nothing through us.

"If it goes to the side we get out and press and we’ve got to be defensively very, very strong.

"We know the Premier League has got major, major quality and we’ve got to make sure we defend well.

“Clean sheets were a real big bonus for us last season, we got 19, but this season is going to be a lot harder.

"When we get our chances, we’ve got to make sure we tuck them away and even if it’s 1-0, 2-0, 2-1, away from home, at home, it’s going to be a real boost getting wins early under our belt.”

Luton have made some terrific signings in a bid to maintain their top flight status, with Ross Barkley becoming the eighth new player to arrive yesterday.

Mpanzu insists the new boys will push those already at the club to greater heights, adding: “There’s been some quality additions.

"Everyone’s settled in right now, everyone’s pushing for positions and if we add more before the end of the transfer window, it’s going to be great for us.

"We’re going to be battling for positions, it’s going to make everyone work a lot harder, work a lot smarter, train to the maximum they can and push ourselves.

"It’s what going to be needed for us to have a successful season and hopefully stay in the Premier League.”