Rob Edwards has warned Luton that the League Two Grimsby will be “energised and enthusiastic” for their FA Cup fourth-round clash tomorrow, having seen plenty of the Mariners while monitoring on-loan striker John McAtee.
Town signed the frontman from the Lincolnshire side in the summer and loaned him straight back for the season, which means he’s ineligible to face his parent club, along with injured Grimsby forwards Ryan Taylor and Lewis Richardson and cup-tied Preston loanee Mikey O’Neill.
But regardless of Grimsby’s striker shortage, Edwards knows the pressure is off Paul Hurst’s underdogs, which means there’s a potential banana skin for the Hatters, even despite home advantage.
So some extra hours watching Grimsby could come in handy for the Hatters boss as his Championship outfit bid to reach the FA Cup fifth round for the second successive year.
Asked if he’s watched the Mariners more to monitor McAtee’s progress, Edwards said: “A little bit more. I’ve been to see them live as well, quite early on when we got the job. It worked out well. We weren’t playing, but there were games that were on in the league below.
“So, I saw him live against Stevenage quite early on when we got the job, so that was good. I’ve been able to see little bits, snippets and clips as well, so maybe a little bit more than usual but we’ve gone into the same detail that we’d go into for any other game.”
Grimsby haven’t played for a fortnight since their 5-0 drubbing at Swindon, but that rest could play to their advantage.
Edwards said: “They’ve had a little bit of a stop-start period so that’s for them to deal with. However they come out, I’m expecting whether they play five games in a week or they’ve had the run that they’ve had recently, they’re going to be right at it, they’re going to be energised and enthusiastic.
“The pressure is off them, it’s one for them to come and enjoy and give their best. We know that, that’s the beauty of the FA Cup and we have to make sure we’re on it and we’re respectful and do the things we do well very well on the weekend, otherwise we can get turned over like other teams have done already in the FA Cup this year.”
Luton are favourites to progress in the FA Cup and Edwards said: “We’ve been talking about it all week and the only way we win is by winning this weekend and we accept that. We know that we’re favourites, we’re at home, up against a team that are a couple of divisions below, so we know what we have to do, all the while respecting Grimsby, knowing they’ve knocked out three teams already from the league above them.
“It’s certainly not going to be easy, we’ve got to make sure that we’re at it, that we’re respectful, incredibly hard-working, as we have been, because that’s what helps us wins football matches.
“We’ve got to deal with that expectancy and we’ve got to deliver a performance and the only way we win is by winning at the weekend. We have to accept that pressure for this game and we have to turn up.”
Forwards Carlton Morris and Cauley Woodrow are both fit for the cup contest, Gabriel Osho has recovered from the dead leg that forced him off at Wigan last weekend while new signing Cody Drameh is cup-tied.
Edwards named academy players Casey Petit and Jayden Luker on the substitute’s bench during Town’s fourth-round double-header against Wigan and asked if he’ll do likewise for the visit of Grimsby, the manager said: “We’re always thinking about it. We have got a strong group and we’ve got people back so there are some big decisions to make for the weekend. It does help when you can have nine subs on the bench, but we’ll have to look at the wider squad as well and try to get that bit right.”
