Club

SONNY | 'WE WILL BE FIT AND READY WHEN FOOTBALL RESUMES'

Town captain Sonny Bradley has said that the Hatters squad will be ready to return to action as soon as football can be played again, outlining what a fantastic group of players he works with.

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Graeme Jones’ side found a decent vein of form before play was halted earlier on this month due to the spread of the coronavirus.

A draw at Wigan Athletic saw the Hatters sit fifth in the form tables in the Championship from the last six games played, having picked up an impressive 11 points.

Bradley was obviously frustrated by the timing of the postponement of fixtures, but he and the squad he says are working hard to keep on top of their fitness.

He explained: “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.

“But me, myself, 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, 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 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.”

His want to return to playing is equalled by his hope that people will observe the government guidelines, emphasising how important it is to stay indoors unless it’s absolutely necessary to do otherwise.

The main issue he is currently finding is not knowing exactly when training and matches can resume.

“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,” Sonny continued. “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.

“So 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.”

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