Hatters boss concedes Luton are now firmly in a Championship relegation battle
Town are just two points above the drop zone in the second tier
Luton boss Rob Edwards has conceded his side now find themselves firmly entrenched in a battle to retain their Championship status this season.
The Hatters’ 2-1 defeat to QPR on Monday night was their fourth successive defeat, having lost to Bristol City, Swansea City and Norwich City over the Christmas and New Year period, as it also stretched their losing run away from Kenilworth Road to a woeful 10 games in a row, meaning they are now just two points above the drop zone with over half of the campaign gone.
It is a world away from the kind of year that Edwards and his players were expecting back in August, when a title challenge to get back into the Premier League was being mentioned before a ball was kicked. Now, Town would take just keeping their heads above water in the second tier, as asked if the club were now embroiled in a relegation fight, Edwards said: “Where we are right now, it is.
"I don’t think I can not answer the question or hide away from that. We believe in the group and think we’re better than where we are, but we’ve got to show it with results. It’s all well and good me coming out to you and saying we played really well again there and didn’t deserve to lose, but we are where we are.”
With Luton picking up just sevens wins all term and having lost 15 of their 26 encounters, striker Carlton Morris was also questioned over whether the players were concerned about the predicament they find themselves in. He continued: “You’ve always got to think about it. I’m not a massive table looker myself personally, especially not at this stage of the season, but we don’t shy away from the fact that we need to pick up our form, especially away from home.”
Although the result at Loftus Road means Edwards once more came under severe pressure from supporters who have made their feelings that they want a change at the helm clearer and clearer in recent weeks, the boss was still remaining confident Town, who are in FA Cup action this weekend at in-form Nottingham Forest, have it in them to climb the table under his stewardship. To do that, he needs both his and his players’ luck to change, the R’s winner coming from a freak Morgan Fox deflection, while Mark McGuinness headed a glorious chance over the bar in stoppage time.
The Hatters chief certainly feels his squad is right behind him though in the battle to stay up, adding: “On another night, that goal doesn’t go in, on another night that header does for us. It seems like every game at the moment is going the other way for us, but if we continue to do what we’re doing, keep working really hard on the basics, trying to be brave with the ball, continue to take it, create chances, then things will turn, I’m convinced of it.
"That’s what we have to believe. I’d like to think I’m pretty honest and say if we play well, but you can see in the main, certainly it wasn’t a perfect performance, but there were chances created. We had really good control at times, good young players on the pitch who can compete, a togetherness and a desire to work from the players. No-one’s not there with us, so we’ve got to take those things.”