Luton are more “streetwise” since losing to Burnley, according to boss Rob Edwards who believes his men can leave a psychological imprint on their relegation rivals tonight and strengthen their chances of swerving the Premier League trapdoor.
Town suffered a frustrating 2-1 defeat to the Clarets at Kenilworth Road in October when Jacob Bruun Larsen scored a stunning winner against the run of play, 65 seconds after Elijah Adebayo’s first top-flight goal had cancelled out Lyle Foster’s opener.
That was Burnley’s first Premier League win of the season having won the Championship at a canter, amassing 101 points, while Town finished third behind Sheffield United and went up via the play-offs. it has been tough at the top for the trio as all three promoted teams occupy the Premier League drop zone.
However, Luton have arguably fared better in the top-flight, winning the most games (four) and accumulating the most points (15) with a game in hand. A first victory at Turf Moor in 24 years would lift the Hatters out of the drop zone above Everton who play on Sunday.
Even with half the campaign still to play, the clash could provide a clearer picture of which of the two teams survives and which one does not, not least because Burnley, on 11 points, already have to make history to stay up as the first club to do so after winning less than 15 points in their first 20 games.
“If we are able to do that (win) then, psychologically for us it will be brilliant,” said Edwards on the implications of leaving Lancashire tonight with three points.
“When you lose any game it’s disappointing. Yeah, we can land a blow, but at the same time, there’s loads of time to recover form that and pick up a lot more points.
“I’m sure they’ll be seeing it from the other way around as well, that they can do that. They’ve beaten us twice since we’ve played them last year and this year.
“I’m sure they’ll be going into the game confident that they can get the three points as well. But if we’re able to, then I think it will be a big one for us.”
The Town manager also admitted that taking points of relegation rivals could be key to the final standings.
Edwards said: “If the results come against anyone then happy days, but I think there is an extra significance with that mini league because you do want to try to take points off each other.
“They took three points off us earlier on and we want to try and return the favour if we can.
“We have done all right. The points we’ve picked up, a lot of them have been from those teams around us so far.
“We’ll continue to try and do it in every game but we recognise the importance in this one.”
Since the defeat to Burnley, Luton have won three times, drawn twice and arguably should have taken points against Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea, often losing by just the odd goal.
“We’re a little bit more experienced, maybe a little bit more streetwise,” said of his side’s improvements from the early stages of their first-ever season in the Premier League.
“Form is important. We’re confident and in good form, so we can take that into the game as well, but I think the big thing is now that we’ve got more understanding of the level and what is required to at least compete and be difficult to beat, and to get points.”
Town’s last road trip saw them come away from a Bramall Lane dogfight with all the spoils after a comeback 3-2 victory against basement boys Sheffield United
“We tried to make it as normal as possible. Everyone is aware of the situation, everyone knows it’s a big game,” said Edwards.
“Because every game is an opportunity for us, we try to treat every one on its merits, a different plan, but planning the same way.
“We try to keep it level, like we did preparing for the play-off final last year, which was a big game. We try to make it as normal as we can.”
He added: “We all want to try and stay in the league. I think we’ve got quite a bit of credit in the bank see, so I don’t feel any big, big pressure from the powers that be.
“I think there’s a real belief in this place that we can achieve something really, really special. Maybe one or two people are starting to see that as well. But, in the end, it doesn’t really matter because we’ve got to get the results to do that ourselves.”
