No Adebayor but Bradley will celebrate if he scores for Luton against Plymouth

Luton centre half Sonny Bradley would have no problems celebrating his first goal of the season against former club Plymouth Argyle at the weekend.
Hatters defender Sonny BradleyHatters defender Sonny Bradley
Hatters defender Sonny Bradley

The 27-year-old spent two years at Home Park prior to joining Town in the summer, making almost 100 appearances for the Pilgrims.

He has gone close to netting for his new club a number of times in recent weeks, but was hoping to break that duck this weekend, no matter who he was facing.

Bradley said: “I’ve had chances this season, I’ve had a couple cleared off the line, it’s just the way it goes sometimes and I’ll be looking for my first one on Saturday.

“But I’ve been thinking that every week, it’s no different, I got asked last week, would I celebrate? And yes, I would celebrate.

“It’s not just because it’s Plymouth, I’d do it against any team.

“I wouldn’t run over to anyone or the opposing fans, I’d run over to my fans and if it was my first goal on Saturday or the Saturday after, whenever it is, I’ll be happy and I’ll celebrate with my fans.”

If he manages to find the net, Bradley would be respectful towards a club he still holds close to his heart though, saying: “It’s completely different if I did an (Emmanuel) Adebayor and ran 90 yards and kneeslide in front of them, that’s completely different, that’s something I’d never do.

“I’ve got nothing but respect for the football club still, the fans are a key part of their football club and they helped me a lot while I was at the football club.

“I’d never do anything in front of them, but if I did score, I’d definitely celebrate with my home fans.”

After opting to move away from the Pilgrims in the summer, Bradley signed a three year deal at Kenilworth Road and on reflection, feels it was the right call for his career.

He continued: “I had a really good two years down there personally and for the club it was two good seasons.

“That’s gone now, I’ve moved on and my focus now is on Luton Town. That’s gone to the back of my mind, it’s just like any other game and we’ll be looking to get three points.

“I had to make a decision in the summer. I decided to leave Plymouth and it wasn’t before I decided to leave Plymouth that I did venture out and looked for a different club.

“It wasn’t a case of picking between the two, or between other clubs. After the decision was made to leave Plymouth, I met up with Nathan (Jones) and had a really good conversation.

“I decided to sign here and I haven’t looked back since. I’m really happy I made that decision.

“I think it was the right time for me in the end. There was talks of me staying, I possibly could have stayed but for me, after speaking to the manager (Derek Adams) there, it was the right time for me to move on.”

The imposing centre half had to bide his time for a place in the side to start with, but on getting his chance, has made 18 appearances in total, playing a big part in the three successive clean sheets that Town have picked up recently.

He continued: “It was a little bit difficult at first, I didn’t play the first two games, Alan Sheehan was playing, but since then, I’ve been part of the team and we’ve been doing really well.

“We had a very difficult run of fixtures at the start of the season, but after coming through that, the last 14, 15 games, we’ve been really good.

“So it’s just about not looking back now, pushing on and getting to the half way point and from there, pushing on.

“We said at the start of the season, minimum target was the play-offs and think so far we’ve put ourselves in a very good position.”

Town boss Nathan Jones felt that Bradley will be well received by his old supporters too, saying: “It’s always nice when you play against a side you know, but he’s got nothing to prove.

“It’s not like he’s been released from there and he’s got a point to prove that they were wrong, he had a good time there.

“Plymouth were very good for Sonny Bradley because when he first joined them to when he exited, he was in a far better place, so they did very well for Sonny Bradley.

“I don’t think there’ll be any bad feeling in any way, shape or form.

“He did well for them, they did well for him, it’s one of those things.

“It’s always nice to play against them though, I used to enjoy playing against old sides, people I knew, but Sonny’s purely focused.

“He’s a consummate professional, he’s a very diligent human being and sure there won’t be anything that upsets him.”