Osho: We wanted Watford revenge for ourselves and Hatters boss Edwards

Town defender Gabe Osho revealed the players were desperate for revenge over their bitter rivals Watford ahead of their terrific 2-0 success at Kenilworth Road yesterday not just for themselves, but also for manager Rob Edwards.

The 24-year-old had been part of the side hammered 4-0 by the Hornets earlier in the campaign, coming on as a half time substitute, only to have his day made even worse by the ignominy of receiving a red card for a reckless challenge in the closing stages.

The game saw Slaven Bilic in the opposition dug-out, after the Croatian had been recently appointed following Edwards’ dismissal by the trigger-happy Hornets board following just 11 games in charge of the club, a decision that becomes more baffling with every passing day.

Five months later and in front of a magnificent home support, who were seeing their side defeat Watford on home soil for the first time since 1993, Luton’s players looked determined to rise to the challenge from the opening whistle, snapping into tackles and giving their fans plenty to get behind.

It was Osho who got the ball rolling too, with a close range finish in the first half, before Allan Campbell sewed up the points in stoppage time, leaving the famous old stadium rocking in the aftermath.

Asked if the players had been eager to get the result for their boss, who has now led Town to 11 league wins from 18 matches, Osho said: “He mentioned it a couple of times, not too much, but I think so, I think so.

"The team and all the boys really respect him, so we wanted to get one back for ourselves but also for him and the coaching staff.

“It speaks for itself. Everyone’s just really happy to be a part of today, an important day for the club’s history, especially when you put it into perspective of what happened in the reverse fixture at their place, so everyone’s just really happy."

The result led to a real outpouring of emotion from Edwards at the full time whistle, as he set off on his customary applause to all sides of the ground.

He had been keen not to make big deal of his time with Luton’s enemies in the build-up to the game, but on what it felt like to mastermind Town to victory, he added: “I wanted to say thanks to the fans, as since we’ve come in then win, lose or draw I’ll go round and say thankyou.

"If we’ve won it’s great to be able to enjoy that together.

"I didn’t use the phrase ‘it’s not about me,’ because other people can talk about it, as then I make it about me.

"Yes I was there, it happened, it went quickly and now I’m here and I love it.

"I know there was always going to be that subplot today, it did feel different, it was strange.

"It was probably a good experience for me to be able to go through that now and it’s nice to come out on the winning side.

"But we’ve got to stay grounded, in the end it’s three points, a massive game against Millwall next.”