Ex-Liverpool and England midfielder urges Luton boss to pick himself up for a crucial seven days in Town's survival bid

Former Liverpool and England midfielder Jamie Redknapp has urged Town boss Rob Edwards to pick himself up from Saturday’s heart-breaking defeat against Aston Villa ahead of seven days that could go some way to determining whether the Hatters will still be playing Premier League football again next season.

With a few minutes to go at the weekend, the Town chief would have thought his side were going to add another point to their tally at the very least when facing Unai Emery’s top four chasing visitors at Kenilworth Road, having witnessed Luton turn around a 2-0 half time deficit to draw level thanks to goals from Tahith Chong and Carlton Morris. However, as they have done against Burnley, Liverpool and Arsenal on home soil, the Hatters then switched off at the vital moment, Moussa Diaby given time to deliver a cross from the right that saw Issa Kabore switch off at the back post, Villains sub Lucas Digne heading past Thomas Kaminski for what proved to be the winner.

It means that with 12 games to go, Luton are still third bottom in the table, four points behind Nottingham Forest and five away from Everton, having a game in hand on both their relegation rivals. They also trail Brentford by six points and Saturday’s opponents Crystal Palace by eight, having played a match less than the duo as well. After the weekend’s trip to Selhurst Park, Luton then go to AFC Bournemouth on Wednesday night, and host Forest in what promises to be a monumental clash at Kenilworth Road the following weekend, as speaking to Sky Sports about the upcoming fixtures, Redknapp said: “You can’t lose the Nottingham Forest game, that’s your absolute must, that’s your home game.

"You’ve got to try and get something if you can at Palace and Bournemouth, not easy fixtures. They’ve got to get players fit, (Elijah) Adebayo is instrumental, especially with Carlton Morris upfront, you’ve got a chance. (Gabe) Osho didn’t play, (Sambi) Lokonga in midfield is important as he gives you that defensive stability. I think Rob will be trying to ask his team to get them fit if they can, but they don’t want to take too many risks unless they lose them for the whole season.

"Then you’ve got some tougher fixtures (against Spurs and Arsenal), but you’ve just got to take them in isolation. Those three games are just so important to Luton’s season, get one win, everything changes, everything turns around. They’ve been in every single game that I’ve seen, certainly at home, forget the FA Cup game, Man City can do that to anyone, but that hurt him today. I’ve seen Rob Edwards do a lot of interviews when he’s lost and he’s always upbeat, but you can see he was so flat. He’ll have to pick himself up, get back into that dressing room and not just lift himself, but his players.”