Mpanzu has a 'wonderful wish' of making the Premier League with Luton after reaching 350 appearances for Town

Town midfielder Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu has a ‘wonderful wish’ of winning promotion to the Premier League to complete his journey with the Hatters after reaching his latest milestone at the weekend.

The 28-year-old became only the 13th player in the club’s history to make 350 appearances for the club during the 2-2 FA fourth round draw with Grimsby Town, joining a select band that includes just Fred Hawkes, Bob Morton, Ricky Hill, Brian Stein, Mal Donaghy, Gordon Turner, Marvin Johnson, Ron Baynham, Syd Owen, Bob Hawkes, David Preece and Matthew Spring.

Signed by former manager John Still in December 2013, initially on loan from West Ham, then quickly making his move permanent a month later, Mpanzu is the only member of the squad to have remained with Luton since their days in non-league, winning three promotions in that time to now be playing in the second tier of English football.

With Luton knocked out in the play-off semi-finals last year, they are well positioned for another stab at the top six this term, with a win over Cardiff City tomorrow night taking them fourth.

On the opportunity of achieving top flight status, Mpanzu said: “Just the Prem at the end of the season will be a wonderful wish!

“We’ve still got a lot of league games to come and the Championship is topsy turvy.

"You can go from fourth to 13th in the matter of two wins, so we’ve got to keep our heads on and hopefully we can churn out a couple of wins and cement ourselves in the top six.”

Having only made one appearance for the Hammers before moving to Luton, Mpanzu never assumed be would have such longevity at Kenilworth Road, particularly when injuries hindered his early years.

Although a tad disappointed not to celebrate his day with a win too, he is now looking at even more matches in a Town shirt, saying: “When I signed, you just want to get a good run of games, and to reach 350 at this stage right now I’m absolutely happy.

“Hopefully there’s many more to come.

"It's bittersweet, good to get 350, obviously we wanted to be in the next round, but you’ve got to do what you’ve got do.

“Reaching 360, 370 it’s a good aim, you never know what happens in football.

"You can go down, injuries can affect you, hopefully I keep fit and 400 could be the next aim.”

Mpanzu might have marked the occasion with a goal too, dragging one effort wide in the first half, and also sending an ambitious volley over the top too.

He added: “I can’t lie to you, I had a go at (Harry) Cornick, he wasn’t listening!

“That’s why I lashed it!

"He was meant to be on the keeper and he wasn’t listening, but I’ll try and get on the scoresheet.

"I’ll do as much as I can for the team and hopefully I can get more goals and push the team on.”