Rob Edwards says Luton’s crunch relegation clash at Crystal Palace today is not a must-win match, but it is an important match in their bid for Premier League survival.
The trip to Selhurst Park is the first in the three-game block against teams in the bottom half of the division, culminating in the visit to Kenilworth Road of Nottingham Forest, the team Town are currently aiming to chase down to lift themselves out of the bottom three.
That’s where the Hatters currently reside, four points adrift of the two-times European champions, but with a game in hand that will be taken care of when Luton return to Bournemouth on Wednesday, for the rescheduled match that was called off after Tom Lockyer suffered a cardiac arrest.
Palace are eight points clear of the relegation zone but Town can draw them back in with a positive result in south London. And with only 12 games of the season remaining, and Luton on a four game losing streak, the games are running out to prevent an immediate return to the Championship.
Edwards said: “We know that every game, the closer we get, they ramp up and the importance grows.
“This is the next game, it’s the most important one and it’s the next opportunity for us to get points. I always say that, but it is.
“It’s not must-win because it doesn’t relegate us tomorrow if we don’t win, but clearly, we’re in a better position if we do, or if we can take something from the game.
“So, we can’t put that kind of pressure on ourselves, but we do recognise the importance of it as well.
“We’ve spoken about that, openly. When we’ve always challenged the players in the past, they’ve responded really well.
“We know it’s a big game, but they all are now, 12 huge games for us, to come.”
