Luton players and staff “feel a sense of shared responsibility” over the departure of boss Rob Edwards and want to put things right, starting at Nottingham Forest today, said assistant manager Paul Trollope.
The Hatters travel to the City Ground in the FA Cup third round this afternoon for their first game of the post-Edwards era after he left the club by mutual consent on Thursday.
As the former manager’s assistants, Trollope and Richie Kyle will be joined by club legend Mick Harford in the dugout, aiming to achieve what Edwards has failed to do on the last ten consecutive matches away from Kenilworth Road, and win a football match. That and the current four-game losing streak is what finally ended Edwards’ tenure.
“There’s obviously been a little period of mourning, if you like. The leader’s changed, the leader’s gone, but life moves on. The group have been excellent,” said Trollope.
“We want to go there (Nottingham) with a clear mind, with a positive attitude. We know it’s a tough challenge, but we really want to embrace it and we want to really want to show what we’re about as a group, as a team.
“We feel a sense of shared responsibility with what’s happened, obviously, and we want to put things right, and we want to fight and show that spirit to get firstly, a good performance then, hopefully, the result and the result will follow.”
But the task couldn’t be any more stark in facing a Forest side whose fortunes have been almost the mirror image of Luton’s since they last met in the Premier League, in March.
Then they were relegation rivals but, despite a four-point deduction, Forest stayed up and the Hatters’ spell in the top flight ended after just one season.
Since then, Town have struggled in the Championship and now sit just two points about the drop zone, while the Reds sit third in the division.
Considering Luton’s woeful away record, they will hope that an upcoming top-of-the-table league clash against leaders Liverpool in midweek, could have an impact on Forest.
“It’s a big test, obviously,” said Trollope, adding: “They’ve got Liverpool on Tuesday night, so whether they rotate a few as Premier League teams do in the FA Cup, time will tell, whether it’s quite a few one or two.
“So, in terms of preparation, that’s been a wee bit difficult with individuals trying to guess what team they’re going to play. But we’ve worked on their principles of play and how they do things. and it’s a big challenge. Even their bench and their squad is full of a huge talent.
“So we’re not going to have to be good defensively. We’re going to have to put in a good, balanced performance. I think we try and impose ourselves, take the ball, be a threat and show some forward action, some real forward intent when we can.
“But that means making sure we take the ball and keep the ball and be able to build when we can. And then, obviously, we’ve looked at ways to try and try and hurt them, but we’re looking for a really good, balanced performance, but keeping that aggression and keeping keeping what Luton Town’s about.
“We’re ready. It’s a big game. It’s an FA Cup game. It’s an exciting game for the football club. We’re going to take a lot of supporters up there and it’s our duty to move on, prepare really well and make sure we give, a performance and hopefully a result that the supporters will be proud of.”
Luton have not lost to Forest in six games, including draws in their last three tussles next to the Trent, that last of which was a two-goal comeback where Elijah Adebayo’s 90th minute leveller saw Town snatch a Premier League point.
Trollope said: “We’re going into the game as obvious underdogs. They’re flying high in the Premier League and in a good vein of form, but sometimes you get grounds, especially away grounds where you have a good feel.
“We discussed it the other day about the comeback last season and the feeling of that in front of our own fans at that end, and it was an amazing feeling in the game and a big point for us at the time.
“So, hopefully, we can harness a little bit of that, take a little bit of confidence from that. Obviously it’s a different situation now.”
Luton have new signing Isiah Jones available after his switch from Middlesbrough yesterday, though Alfie Doughty’s return from an ankle injury has been delayed.
“He’s still not ready. He’ll be assessed next week. I think he’s he is close now, but he’s not made this game,” said Trollope.
Also, still out is Reece Burke (quad), Shandon Baptiste (calf), Teden Mengi (knee) and Tom Lockyer (ankle).
Be the first to comment