Luton must to deal with the pressure of being the rare favourites this term, according to boss Rob Edwards, who wants his men to take their FA Cup third round clash as seriously as any Premier League game to end a recent run of knockout shocks.
Last season, Town were knocked out of both cup competitions by lower league opposition – Grimsby and Newport – and that trend continued in this campaign as Exeter City dumped them out of the League Cup.
And it was in an FA Cup third round clash 27 years ago that Luton last played Bolton, losing 6-2 at the second time of asking after a 1-1 draw at Kenilworth Road. Remarkably, the two clubs have avoided each other since then as the Trotters enjoyed 11 consecutive campaigns in the Premier League from 2001, while Town went down to the non-league in 2008.
By 2020, however Bolton found themselves in the bottom tier, while Town had swapped places with them the season before to return to the Championship.
On Sunday, as a Premier League team for the first time ever, Luton host a resurgent Bolton side, sitting second in League One, and Edwards knows that a repeat of their performance at in Exeter in September will mean another cup humbling.
The manager said: “That was the message when I was stood in front of the group this morning. We’ve got to be able to deal with being, in this game, the favourites. We’re at home. Yeah, we’re playing against a team that’s playing really well, but obviously they’re a couple of leagues below at the moment.
“We’ve got to really take it as we’ve taken every single Premier League game in terms of attitude, mentality. The process we’ve gone into and how we’re preparing for it is exactly the same as we prepare for every single game because they’re very good at what they do.
“We’ve got to be able to deal with that pressure. In almost every game in the league, in the 19 games that we’ve had, we’ll have been the underdog. In the past, in the cup games, when we weren’t here, but we would’ve been the unfancied team. Now we are, so we’ve got to be able to step up and deliver a good performance.”
It’s something they did not manage at St James’ Park in Devon at the start of this term, and asked if Town can use the disappointment of being dumped out of the League Cup by Exeter City – who Bolton have battered 7-0 this term – Edwards said: “Definitely. The lads know. We don’t want to drop our standards ar all.
“We have to remain consistent now. W’ere in good form. I know we haven’t won every game but we’ve been in good form throughout the month of December. We’ve got to try to maintain that. That’s the message.
“We’ll be going into this game with, I believe, the right mentality, respecting the opposition, and looking to win it.”
Edwards who never enjoyed an FA Cup run as a player, will want to get one over his opposite number and old Tangerines team-mate, Ian Evatt who he played alongside for three years at Blackpool.
He said: “Bolton are a big football club and he’s been tasked with helping to reshape and rebuild that football club, and he’s doing a very good job of it.
“The play a really good style of football and they’re winning football matches as well, so he deserves a lot of credit. We will respect them and take them very, very seriously, as seriously as we take any team in the league we’re in at the moment, because they’re a dangerous team.
“Obviously, in this game, we’ll be favourites so the pressure is on us and we need to respond well to that.”
Cameron Jerome will return to Luton for the first time since leaving 12 months ago, but perhaps the greater goal threat for Town to worry about will be Wanderers’ 13-strike top scorer this season, Dion Charles. Fortunately, he’s a forward that Edwards knows plenty about as part of the Blackpool under-18s side that he did his very first coaching session with, alongside his current assistant Richie Kyle.
“He’s gone on and done really well,” Edwards said of the Northern Ireland international, adding: “He’s had to work really hard and earn it, Dion. He’s dropped down the levels and has fought hard to come back and really excel in there. It’s nice to see. He’s a good player, a big threat.
“Jón Daði Böðvarsson, I worked with at Wolves, and a lot of others have got real threats at the top end of the pitch.
“They like to control the game, with the ball, so there are similarities to a lot of what we come up against in our league. I don’t see them changing their style. They’ll look to impose their style and try to play the way they do, so we’ve got to be right at it to make sure they can’t.”
Edwards will have an almost full strength side to pick from for Sunday’s cup clash, with only Marvelous Nakamba (knee) and Dan Potts unavailable, though the defender has returned to full training, while Reece Burke is also back on the grass but won’t start if he’s selected.
The manager will even have the services of Manchester City loan full back Issa Kaboré, who was expected to be heading to the African Cup of Nations.
“He’s actually available,” said Edwards, adding: “We’ve had the dispensation from Burkina Faso so he’s someone that’s available for the game, not going to their training camp. After that, he goes.”
