Jamaican international always had belief that Luton Town could reach the top flight

​Town defender Amari’i Bell always had a feeling that Luton could reach the Premier League after they managed the magnificent feat on Saturday by beating Coventry City on penalties in the play-off final.

​The Hatters triumphed 6-5 in the shootout after extra-time had finished with the scores locked at 1-1, Sky Blues defender Fankaty Dabo sending his effort high and wide in front of a packed Luton end to spark scenes of wild celebration.

Bell, who joined in the summer of 2021, following a season in which Town had stabilised in the Championship, was part of the side who had also reached the play-offs last term, with an injury-hit squad beaten in the semi-final by Huddersfield Town.

However, he believed they could still push on, as they did, making it all the way to the final and then winning in front of 85,000, as he said: “I saw how the club had improved year by year, and there was something I wanted to be a part of.

"It's gone from strength to strength and it's just been amazing.

"I did believe it, especially after the first season, that was amazing.

"But the second season, now, with the experience from last year, we went all the way and did it.

"It’s what dreams are made of.

"Everybody associated with the club, they’re over the moon, as I am.

“It’s been a tough season, but we did it in the end.

"There's no better way to do it.

"You can go up automatically but to go to the play-offs and go through that way it's an experience and it's amazing.”

Bell also dedicated the victory to team-mate Tom Lockyer after the defender collapsed on the field in the first half and had to be taken to hospital, where is now recovering, along with the players’ families too, adding: ”It was definitely quite concerning, because I knew there was nobody around him and obviously, I saw him on the floor and he did not look good.

"It's a bit worrying for me, I didn't know whether to turn him over, but I thought I'd leave him to the medical staff because he's in good hands there.

"There's a lot of people we had to do it for and he's one of them.

"We knew that we had to do it for him, we knew that we had to do it for ourselves, for our families, the boys on the bench and in the stands watching on because they can't affect the games, so we had to do it for them.”