Rob Edwards has said there’s “no way” that he’ll still be a football manager at 76 years old like rival Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson.
The Hatters boss – who succeeded the former England head coach at Watford in the summer of 2022 before being sacked and then leading arch-rivals Luton to the Premier League – will pit his wits against the septuagenarian when the Eagles come to Kenilworth Road tomorrow in the top division .
Edwards, 40, has just passed his first anniversary in charge of Town, but he was not even born when Hodgson, 36 years his senior, started his managerial career in 1976.
The Luton chief’s first job in the hotseat came in 2017 with his hometown club AFC Telford, but he’d have to still be picking teams until 2064 to match Hodgson’s career in the dugout.
Asked if he could foresee that, Edwards said: “No chance. No way.
“I just don’t think I love it as much as him (Hodgson). There are times where I’m thinking, what am I doing in this job? There is.
“All I read this week is why hasn’t there been a Premier League manager sacked yet? I’m thinking, great, you know.
“You have to have thick skin in this job. I get it. I know there’s not as much pressure on me but, nah.”
Edwards added: “I just don’t anticipate me being in it (football management) for that long. I’d love to be in the game but I think I’ve got other things to give as well and I just don’t think I’ll be doing this role forever.
“I’m going to keep my head down, keep working hard and try to stay in it as much as I can. If that’s a year, two years, ten years or 15 the, great. But I just don’t see me doing it until I’m 76. Hopefully I’m alive at 76.”
Instead, Edwards is focusing solely on Luton’s next match and a chance to register their first ever home Premier League win.
“Get through that game and then we’ll see and I’ll hopefully survive until next week. Success is survival, I think, now,” he said.
When Hodgson took charge of his first match for Swedish side Halmstad BK, six years before Edwards was born, there wasn’t the scrutiny or coverage ofthe game that there is now, which makes longevity in football management a rare thing.
The Luton boss said: “There’s a lot of noise and everyone’s got their opinions, which everyone’s entitled to. I understand it and you’ve got to deal with it.
“On my phone is WhatsApp and phone calls, that’s all I’ve got. There’s nothing else.
“I don’t see all of the noise around it. My kids do and my wife might but I tell her not to tell me when it’s good, bad or indifferent.
“I just try to stay away from it. I don’t listen to any radio, I just put my music on and that’s it. Or a podcast or something and just try to stay away from all the noise.
“I don’t want to know anything, if I’m being honest. You hear some stuff because you can’t help it. But headlines come up on my watch these days, so it’s hard to get away from all of it, but I try to.”
