Edwards admits he has been 'close to the edge' as he reaches 100 games in charge of Luton

Luton boss Rob Edwards admits he has been left ‘close to the edge’ at times this year as he completes his 100th match in charge of the Hatters at Bristol City on Boxing Day.

Having been appointed as Nathan Jones’ replacement on November 17, 2022, it was fairly plan sailing for Edwards in his first few months at the helm, as he won 14 of his first 25 Championship matches to lead Town to the play-offs, where they beat Sunderland over two legs and then Coventry City in the final at Wembley to reach the Premier League for the first time in the club’s history.

Luton then gave a valiant account of trying to stay in the top flight, something that looked a distinct possibility when beating Brighton & Hove Albion 4-0 at Kenilworth Road in January, only for a bitterly unlucky run with injuries, something that is still biting hard now, saw them relegated back to the second tier once more in the penultimate week of the campaign.

This term things have quite simply not gone to plan, Luton finding it far harder than expected to get over their relegation, languishing in the lower reaches of the table, jumping up to 15th place last week thanks to a stoppage time winner from Carlton Morris to see off Derby County at Kenilworth Road. Edwards has had some real high and some major lows during his time in Bedfordshire, none more so than seeing Tom Lockyer suffer a cardiac arrest on the pitch at AFC Bournemouth last December, while the calendar year of 2024 has been particularly hard.

In fact Luton’s victory over the Rams was just their 11th in all competitions, as it looked like his job was in serious jeopardy following a 5-1 thrashing by Middlesbrough recently. Edwards conceded that Town’s poor form and the criticism from some sections of support that has come with it, has led him to some dark places mentally, although thankfully he appears to have rediscovered some of his verve and vigour for the job again now.

Discussing reaching three figures, he said: “Flipping heck, that’s not been dull. Lets not look at the win percentage anymore now as there’s a year in the Premier League in that! But incredible, lots of highs, there’s been lots of challenges as there is in management and again, I was getting quite a lot of credit last year and now there’s some questions and that’s understandable.

"It becomes evident, you look outside this goldfish bowl I’m in sometimes and you see that everyone’s going through it. It’s a tough job football management, it’s a tough challenge and I feel like it’s really taken me close to the edge at times over these last 12 months and asked more of me than I ever thought I’d have to deal with. It’s been really, really difficult, but I know when we come through it and out the other end and we get consistency again and we’re looking stronger again, I’ll be better for it.

"It’s been an incredible 100 games, something I’m very proud of to represent this club and the highs have been the highest haven’t they. Unbelievable memories that we’ve got that we’ll always be able to remember and treasure and the plan is to have those memories again, those days again in the future, and we’re building, working really hard towards trying to do that and deliver that again.”

Setting his sights on the future as well, it’s clear Edwards is planning a long stint with Town, as he remains confident that the Hatters can come through the difficult run they have been on this season, adding: “Hopefully most people can understand and see off the back of a relegation it’s not always straightforward, it hasn’t been straightforward for us.

"There’s been a lot for us to have to cope with and deal with and learn from. I know we’re all going to be better for it and I feel like I’m re-energised, I feel like over these last four, five, six weeks I’ve worked really hard on that, making sure that I’m being the best that I can be. I’m really looking forward to being able to say that we could turn a really difficult situation around and look forward to the next hundred games.”