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FANTASTIC! Luton Town Boss Revealed What He wants To Do In The Championship
Bullish Edwards sees no point in playing down his ambition of winning promotion with Luton
A bullish Luton boss Rob Edwards sees no point in hiding away from what his ambitions are for the Hatters this season, which is winning an immediate promotion back to the Premier League.
Having done so back in May 2023 via a play-off final win over Coventry, Town then had a year of competing in the top flight of English football that Edwards and his players clearly loved, going up against the very best in domestic and world football on a weekly basis. Although Town gave staying up their best shot, they ultimately found the task that little bit beyond them, a 3-1 defeat at West Ham United in the penultimate game, all but sending them down.
Now faced with another season in the second tier, starting against Burnley on Monday night, Edwards admits any kind of disappointment felt by his squad about the league they now find themselves in again has quickly dissipated as he had no problems in setting out his goal for the upcoming campaign, saying: “There’s been a very good focus, a desire, the right things have been said about what we want to try and achieve this year, while all the time respecting the league and the opposition teams because we know that they’re good competition.
“We know how hard it is to get out of this league, but we’re certainly in a better place this time to do it than we were last time and we were able to do it before, and that has to be our aim. I’ll openly talk about that, I’ll say that’s our aim, but I also recognise there’s probably 15 other teams saying it as well and that is the Championship in a nutshell really. But I think when I say it, we can all believe it as we’ve done it before. We’ve got that experience to lean on, we know what it takes, we know it’s a real challenge. We know it’s relentless and not easy, but we’re really up for it and I feel a really good energy around the place.”
While other managers might have downplayed their intentions to the press, Edwards didn’t see any need to do that, as he continued: “What’s the point? What’s the point in playing this down? I don’t think our supporters would want to hear me playing it down this year now, let’s go for it. I’m not saying we’re going to do it as no-one can, no-one can say that.
“The might of Leeds last year weren’t quite able to get over the line and do it. Huge football club, brilliant players, brilliant manager, that’s how hard this league is, but we’ll give it our best to try and get back there. That’s all I want to do, we loved it, a brilliant experience, we all got better for the experience of last year. So let’s take those experiences into this year and try our best to achieve something really special again, as it will be special, no doubt about it.”
Having set out his goals so publicly, Edwards knows it will bring a real element of expectancy whenever his side step out on to the field. However, he welcomes such a hike in anticipation, and is confident his players will have the mentality to deal with that, even if they are moving into a new territory which sees Luton finding themselves heavily tipped as one of the favourites to go up.
Town’s last four seasons at this level often saw them predicted to either go down or struggle in the lower reaches, but now they are up with the likes of Burnley, Sheffield United and Leeds to win the whole thing. On those goalposts shifting, Edwards said: “It’s important to talk about that and own it as well. I think if we hide that away and leave it alone, it could probably affect us more. So, we’ve got to be able to own it, realise it’s because we’ve done good work here that there’s more expectation on us.
“If we want to be a big team in this league, then we’ve got to be able to deal with that expectation. We dealt with pressure last time in the Championship, but in a different way. There was less expectation, we were able to play in the most pressurised game that there is, or the most pressurised game I’ve ever been involved in, the play-off final, and deliver. Obviously, in very tight circumstances, but deliver.
“This year, it’s going to be different. This year we’re going to be expected to be up there. We’re going to be the favourites in the majority of games, but that has to bring out the best in us, so mentality is going to be key, it really, really is. That is going to take a shift from the players because this club, historically, over the last few years, has been an underdog.
“We’ve done really well, but what can I do other than go, ‘right, we’ve got to own it. Let’s make it bring out the best in us, it’s because you’ve done so well and because you’re really good players, lads. Go and believe in yourselves and go and do it’. It’s something that we try to talk about almost daily. We try to live by Premier League standards now.
“We try to train the way that we knew was competitive in the Premier League. We try to live by those standards in everything we do. So, everything around the place is trying to be elite, trying to be Premier League level. Not dropping our standards from when we were competing last season. I think that’s the key and talking about that daily.”
With Edwards clearly desperate to be back in the top flight again, he believes that burning desire within him is shared by his squad too, adding: “We all want to be back there, we all want to be in the Premier League. I’m no different, I do as well. So when I stand here and the lads are all sitting there in a meeting, (I say) ‘you know what it will take. A lot of you have done it and achieved it before. You all felt it and you want to be there again’.
“The lads loved it. We all did, I did, the whole football club did and we have an opportunity in around nine months time, whatever it is, to be there again. It’s not long. It’s a slog and it’s hard, but football’s hard, life is hard. Let’s work really, really hard for nine months and try to achieve something special again. It’s not disrespecting anyone at all, there are so many other teams that are going to be feeling the same and that’s fine. It adds to the competition and the fun of it.”
