Luton chief ready for emotionally charged day as he wants Hatters fans to celebrate Lockyer's recovery

Luton boss Rob Edwards is preparing for an emotionally charged atmosphere at Kenilworth Road this afternoon as he urged Town fans to celebrate the recovery of defender Tom Lockyer from his cardiac arrest at AFC Bournemouth last weekend.

Today’s Premier League contest is the first game for the Hatters since the 29-year-old club captain collapsed on the pitch at the Vitality Stadium, where his life was saved by the medical staff and paramedics labelled ‘heroes’ by the Hatters chief. He was immediately taken to hospital, undergoing a procedure to have an ICD (Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator) fitted earlier this week before being discharged on Thursday, returning home to begin recuperating with his family.

Since the incident, messages of support have flooded in from all over the footballing community and Edwards knows the Luton followers will be determined to show the Welsh international just what he means to them when Newcastle United are in town at 3pm today.

He said: “I believe and I’m going to say this as I’m biased, I believe we’ve got the best fans in the world and I know they’ll react in the right way. It will be emotional for them, Tom means a lot to our supporters, that’s why they sing his name every week. So I know they’ll be doing that, they’ll have things planned I’m sure, but I know they’ll bring the noise as well and we’ll try to make sure there’s a performance there for them to sing about.

“It was a horrific thing that happened, but we have to celebrate that Tom is still here with us and the amazing work that everyone did on Saturday, that’s the most important thing. I think emotionally-charged is the right way to describe it. I think our fans turn out and bring the noise as they always do and make it a really special occasion to celebrate Tom and the fact that he’s well and recovering, but to support the lads as well as it’s a really important game.”

Luton’s fans have planned a minutes applause on the four minute mark, the number of Lockyer’s shirt, and Edwards believe that is a great idea, as he continued: “Yes, it will be, an opportunity for them again to show what he means to the club, so that will be nice.”

With Lockyer an integral part of the Hatters squad, having played 117 times since joining from Charlton Athletic in September 2020, it has been an extremely difficult week for the players as well, as they waited to find out news of their popular skipper’s recovery.

Edwards wants those selected to use the emotion of what has happened within their performance as well, as on what he will tell them ahead of kick-off, he added: “It will be an emotional day for everyone involved and we want to go and do him proud.

"It is a challenge as I’ve got to be careful with my language. It is a completely different situation but when we were coming towards the end of last year in big, big games that meant a lot, I quite liked the players playing with emotion, I quite like them playing with their heart on their sleeve, so I want them to use that emotion. As long as it keeps 11 players on the pitch and it can bring out the best in us then great, we’ve got to try and harness that, but it can be a real fine balance without sending people over the edge.

“Our final message will always be very similar, we want to be brave. I think we can embody what Locks is. I think he is brave, he’s determined and we do want to go and do it for him. But we’re always very, very motivated for every game in the Premier League, and I think the players have shown that so far this season, so that will be the message.”