After playing non-league football and then collapsing at Wembley in the biggest game of his career, Tom Lockyer has been through enough to know he won’t let his Premier League dream pass him by.
The newly installed Luton captain will lead his team out at Brighton and Hove Albion for their debut in the division, knowing that Town are already being cast as relegation fodder.
But the defender’s journey somewhat mirrors the club’s in that they’ve both risen to the top table from the National League.
Lockyer played non-league football with Bristol Rovers, swapping places with the Hatters as they’d just ended a five-year exile.
The 28-year-old joined Town in 2020 and this summer a history-making promotion to the Premier League was secured via the play-offs. But it was a bittersweet afternoon for Lockyer, who was taken to hospital after eight minutes after suffering atrial fibrillation of the heart.
His immediate reaction while sitting in the Wembley Stadium medical room, waiting for his transit to the Cavendish Clinic, was that he might never play again. But the Welshman was treated by Professor Sanjay Sharma who reassured him that he’d treated Christian Eriksen, who is now back playing after suffering a heart attack in Euro 2020.
However, that experience has helped shape Lockyer who will make his Premier League debut this afternoon.
“It’s massive,” said the Town skipper, adding: “The eyes of the world are on you now, so there’s no hiding place. A lot of us coming from the lower leagues, we’re not going to take this opportunity for granted. We’re hopefully not going to let it pass us by.
“We’re going to enjoy our time here and give it our all, so it’s certainly one we’ll try to take with both hands, but it is a really tough league, so we’ll have to see how it goes.”
Manager Rob Edwards admits he’s “not offended” by Luton being installed as favourites for an immediate return to the Championship.
Lockyer said: “We came up through the play-offs so technically, we are going to be the worst team here, so it is what it is. People can say what they want outside.
“I wasn’t expecting to go into any game this season being favourites, so I think that reflects in your odds.
“We’ll do our own thing, in-house. We’re Luton Town and we don’t really care what people think of us, we’ll do things our own way and enjoy it along the way. What will be, will be.”
Lockyer will be a key component in trying to thwart a Brighton team that last term qualified for the Europa League for the first time in their history.
The centre half said: “They’re a top side. You see what they did last year and they’re a really top side. We’ll be saying that about a lot of teams this season.
“This is the Premier League and there’s not any easy games, is there? It’s going to be a tough game and we’re expecting nothing less.
“But preparations have been good. We’re Luton Town, we’ll do things our own way and we’ll see where that gets us.”
