James Collins has declared his love for Luton, which has made being named stand-in captain a ‘great honour’.
The striker, who scored a last-gasp equaliser against Stoke on Saturday in a 1-1 draw, has been handed the armband in five of the last seven games, when skipper Sonny Bradley has been out injured.
It was the 29-year-old’s third game leading Luton out and he said: “I love playing for this football club, so to have the armband is a great honour.”
The striker now thinks he’s got enough game under his belt to properly fill the role, having bagged 56 goals in 129 games since arriving at the club in the summer of 2017.
“I was captain at Shrewsbury for a few months when Liam Lawrence wasn’t playing, so I have done it before. I was a little bit younger then, but now I’m at an age where I’m a little bit more experienced,” the 11-goal marksman said.
“It’s a massive honour to be captain of this football club. Sonny’s the club captain, Sheez (Alan Sheehan) was the club captain before when he was here, so I’ve been under some great captains since I’ve been at the club, (with) Glen (Rea) when he was fit last year, and Scotty Cuthbert.
“To be named as the captain when Sonny doesn’t play is fantastic, I love it.
“I feel I’m at an age now where I can do it, so I really enjoy it. Obviously Sonny’s the captain, but I do enjoy wearing it when he’s not playing.”
Collins, this season, also made a goalscoring international debut for the Republic of Ireland and that was one of the main factors in club boss Graeme Jones handing him the captaincy.
“(He’s an) international, (has) great history with the club, (is) a bit of a talisman here, a top goalscorer, wonderful character. If we’re talking about being professional, he outstanding,” said the manager.
“He’s as robust as they come, mentally, physically, committed to every performance, so he’s a leader by example as well.
“It could have been Matty Pearson, could have been Glen Rea, but Glen was just coming back from injury so I just wanted him to concentrate on his performance rather than worrying about other peoples.
“But James has been very consistent the whole season.”
