The ‘sad’ start of the season could not be more different to the business end for Luton defender Tom Lockyer who has revealed he thought he’d have to leave the club when he couldn’t break into the first team.
Now, the defender has just been named in the Championship team of the season, scored in the latest win against fellow promotion hopefuls Middlesbrough and has been a key part of securing a play-off spot for the second season running, so it seems unthinkable that his campaign could have been anything other than the best of his career.
But back in the summer, the popular Welshman didn’t feature in the first four league games and when given a chance in the EFL Cup, though he netted against Newport County, Town were dumped out by the League Two outfit, which seemed to spell the end of his best chance of for forcing a way into the starting line-up.
Asked if at that point he was worried about the season, Lockyer said: “Maybe not worried as much, because I always knew I’m a good player and the levels I’m able to hit.
“More that maybe I might just have to be somewhere else, other than here. I wouldn’t say concern, but that was the overriding thought at the time, if that was going to be the case.
“Obviously, everyone wants to be playing and doing well, so when that Newport game finished – and obviously I scored in it as well, didn’t I? No knee-slide that time – that was the thought at that time.”
He added: “That’s how it was looking. I think, last season, Nathan (Jones, former manager) probably had his back three in his head and I wasn’t in it.
“But with injuries, you never know what’s around the corner, and then it was obviously nice that it was just four games in the end and not a lot longer, because I feel that once I got in the team I’ve probably never looked back and I love playing.”
An injury to skipper Sonny Bradley gave Lockyer the chance at Swansea, where a victory and a clean sheet proved a pivotal point.
The centre-half has then started every game since then except for two, and one of those he was suspended for.
The 28-year-old said: “It’s mad isn’t it? The first four games I could get a sniff. It was quite a difficult time for me personally as well. I was just a little bit sad. I just wanted to play football and I just could get in the team.
“It was quite a difficult time for me, we obviously had that Newport game and we were out of the cup and I thought that was the end of my chance to force my way in, because we went out straight away.
“For whatever reason, I got the chance at Swansea and probably never looked back since.”
Even though he required three half-time stitches to a head wound in Monday’s 2-1 win over Middlesbrough, Lockyer has managed to stay injury free this term, which hadn’t been the case in his first two campaigns for the Hatters.
On the stitches just above his eye, the Wales international joked: “They’ll be alright. Our doc tried his best to make sure they weren’t. He only had three stitches, but he almost stitched my eyelid shut. That was at half time, so there was no way I was coming off with that, so it’s all good.”
He added: “Before I joined Luton, I played the majority of games in every season I’ve been in, and I came to Luton and had been hampered by a few injuries in the first two seasons, which was annoying.
“But it’s nice to just be back in the team and know you’re going to have a game every week, which was really nice. It’s something to look forward to.
“I know there’s some people that hate training. I actually don’t mind training. I really enjoy getting around the lads and giving it the all in the training and not just going through the motions. That’s until Kev Dearden (goalkeeping coach) refs actually, because he was horrendous today!”
Lockyer has gone from not getting a game at Luton, to being one of the most influential players this term, earning a place in the Wales World Cup squad, then this week getting named in the Championship team of the season and helping Town into the play-offs.
Asked if comparing the start of the term to now makes it even better, how the season has panned out, he said: “You could say that. I don’t dwell on the past. I’m always looking to the next game. The old cliche. There’s no point looking back, whatever’s done is done, and you can’t change it, so it doesn’t really bother me too much.
“Football’s about opinions and I might not be one person’s cup of tea, but you couldn’t be someone else’s.”
And asked about that personal triumph at the EFL Awards, Lockyer said: “It was a really proud moment for me and my family. To get that recognition is fantastic.
“It’s something that no-one can take away from me, so I’m really delighted with that, but I couldn’t have done it without the lads, so a massive thank you to them as well.
“It’s been a good season for me, personally. To get that accolade is really nice but there’s a bigger goal with the team, which I would trade any individual award for.”
