Hatters skipper calls for a mini pre-season before league returns after coronavirus

Town captain Sonny Bradley believes that a mini pre-season will be needed once the Football League returns to action following the coronavirus pandemic.

The EFL decided to suspend the campaign until April 30 recently due to the outbreak, with Hatters swiftly cancelling training at the Brache, ahead of the country being placed on lockdown by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday.

It looks increasingly unlikely that games will begin again by that date though, while Bradley felt it’s only fair to allow players some time to get themselves ready when it does resume.

Speaking to the club’s official website, he said: “It’s difficult because when football does eventually start again, let’s just say it’s a few months down the line, we’re going to have to have a pre-season again and play is going to have to be assessed because there’s no way they can set fixtures within weeks and then just jump straight into them.

“I don’t think that’s fair on the players and I don’t think it’s good for their health.

“I think we need at least six to eight weeks to prepare ourselves.

“But look, things are changing everyday and there’s no point in me speculating right now when it is going to start because I don’t have a clue.

“You turn Sky Sports News on and you listen to TalkSport and you hear a lot of ex-pros or pundits talking about football, speculating when it’s going to restart and how the season should finish but it’s impossible to guess.

“It’s all guesswork right now, it’s impossible to say things are going to happen, but the health of the players is paramount.

“At the minute it’s what’s most important and I think once it’s safe to play again and we can concentrate on those fixtures, we can get fit again and play football."

With the Luton players now confined to their homes along with the rest of the population, Bradley isn’t overly concerned about keeping things ticking over while away from training.

He continued: "I am not worried about myself staying fit, we have lots of resources, there are lots of ways for us to stay fit.

“What actually is frustrating is we don’t have a date yet, we don’t have some fixture dates set, so we can’t work towards that.

“All we can do is look after ourselves and maintain a level of fitness that is acceptable.

“It’s a difficult one because we don’t know when we’re going to be playing, all I can say is that we will be ready, as a group of lads, we’re a great group, we’re in a brilliant environment and we see it every day.

“We want to be in, we want to be training, but the morale is high and we will be ready, but right now it’s not safe.

"It’s not safe to be around the rest of the boys, it’s not safe to be at the Brache or at Kenilworth Road.”

Before the league was suspended, Town had picked up some impressive results, with three wins from six, losing just once, and earning a valuable point at relegation rivals Wigan Athletic.

Bradley was disappointed that the prolonged absence had come when it did, saying: “It is frustrating, the timing was frustrating for us, because although we weren’t in great form, for us this season we’d actually come into a bit of form which we were happy with.

“I left after the Wigan game thinking it was a positive result and a positive performance and going into the last nine games I certainly think we were looking up, we have a real chance of staying in the division.

“From a personal point of view it’s frustrating, I know from the squad’s point of view it’s frustrating as well.”

With the severity of the virus gripping the globe though, Bradley has urged the lockdown guidelines to be followed to ensure that football, as well as a sense of normality, can return as soon as possible when the restrictions are lifted.

He added: “We have to respect that and it’s safety first, that’s what I am trying to say – it’s safety first.

"Football is a large part of our lives, it certainly is for me, but football has to take a backseat.

“The health is more important, people’s health and what’s important to understand is football will return.

“For people who love football, if you want football to return quicker, then we urge people to follow government guidelines and isolate as much as you can, because if you do this, then you are having an impact, you are making an impact, you are potentially stopping the spread of coronavirus.

“So as soon as it’s safe again and if you continue to do this then and we come out the other side of this and we’re all healthy, then football will start again.

"So don’t think you can’t make a difference, because you can, continue to follow the guidelines and football will be back sooner rather than later.”