Hatters boss wants promotion clash at Bramall Lane to 'bring out the best' in his Luton players

Luton boss Rob Edwards wants the red-hot atmosphere expected at Bramall Lane for tomorrow afternoon’s trip to fellow promotion chasers Sheffield United to ‘bring out the best’ in his players.

Although the contest is under threat due to the snow and freezing conditions in South Yorkshire, the Hatters will hopefully head to the Blades knowing victory will boost their chances of being in the top six massively.

Victory for the visitors would see Town retain their slim chances of catching Paul Heckingbottom’s second-placed side, cutting the gap to seven points, although Middlesbrough, Blackburn and even Norwich in sixth might have something to say on that.

With just under 30,000 supporters expected to be in attendance, and Luton given an allocation of 2,035 tickets, Edwards said: “We want to enjoy it, we want to give our fans something to shout about, and I know they will.

"I know they’ll get behind the lads, they always do, their fans certainly will, so it has to be one that we’ve got to enjoy.

"We’ll go and look around, as we walk out there and they’re making a lot of noise, lets go and enjoy it, embrace it and it's got to get us going even more.

"We’ve got to use it, I don’t want it to affect us in a negative way, this has got to get us going.

"We deserve to be here, we deserve to be in these games, the lads have been at this area of the table now for a long time, so let's embrace it, let's enjoy it, and bring out the best in us.”

The Blades looked out of sight for a top two spot along with Burnley after a 10-game unbeaten run, with eight wins recently, but recent matches has seen them give the chasing pack a chance of overtaking them.

They had lost three out of four Championship encounters until triumphing 1-0 at Reading on Tuesday night to move seven points ahead of nearest rivals Boro.

Although Edwards wasn’t at the Madejski Stadium in midweek, involved in the meet the manager evening at Luton, he made sure there were eyes on a side he feels are a top class outfit, continuing: “We know them quite well, Trolls (Paul Trollope, assistant) went to the game, so it was good to have someone there watching them.

"We’re aware of them, they’ve done very, very well, Hecky’s done a great job.

"They’ve got a lot of very, very good players and they’re where they are on merit.

"It’s going to be a really difficult game, but one we’re really looking forward to as it’s fantastic.

"To be in the position that we’re in, and going to Bramall Lane, it’ll be a great atmosphere, playing against Sheffield United when they’re playing for something as well, these are times where we’ve got to really enjoy.

"The supporters that are coming have got to really enjoy it, I know we’re going to hear them, so we’re looking forward to it as it will hopefully be a great day.

"It will certainly be a really good atmosphere, I know that, a real challenging game for both teams, so we’re looking forward to it.”

On just what he expects from the hosts, Edwards continued: “They can do a bit of everything, they can have a fight, they can have a football match, they can play through, play around, play over.

"They’ve got lots of strings to their bow, so both sides of our game has got to be really, really good on the day to get anything from them.

"That’s why they are where they are in the league, consistently now over 35 games, they’ve picked up a lot of points.

"It’s a really good challenge, really good individual players and then obviously as a collective then they’re well coached.”