Three left in relegation battle as Town chief insists Everton are safe following Liverpool victory

Hatters boss Rob Edwards doesn’t think Everton are still involved in the battle to avoid relegation from the Premier League this season after the Toffees’ superb 2-0 victory over fierce rivals Liverpool in the Merseyside derby on Wednesday night.

Goals from Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin saw Sean Dyche’s side deliver what looked like a hammer blow to their Reds’ own title ambitions, with victories for Arsenal and Manchester City making it very unlikely Jurgen Klopp will leave Anfield with anything more than a Carabao Cup success in his final campaign.

Everton’s triumph made it successive victories having also got past Nottingham Forest, a side definitely still in the fight to stay up, by the same scoreline on Sunday afternoon, taking the Goodison Park club up to 33 points, eight ahead of Luton, with four games to go. Asked if the final two spots were now between Forest, Town and second bottom Burnley, with basement club Sheffield United all but mathematically down, Edwards said: “Yes, I think they’ve done enough.

"The remaining games they’ve got as well, as since a difficult result a couple of weeks ago, they’ve done really well with the last couple of victories and I think they’ll probably feel that they’re out of it now.”

Having been hammered 6-0 by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge just under a fortnight ago, the Town chief, who saw his own side thrashed 5-1 on home soil at the weekend, believes the manner in which their one-time rivals have responded can show the Hatters players it is possible to bounce back from such a hefty defeat when they go to Wolves tomorrow. He continued: “Huge credit to them, they’ve turned things around quickly and very well.

"They’re a different club and they do things differently, but it shows you can do it, and this league it’s mad isn’t it? You see other teams winning heavily and losing heavily, it can happen if you drop your levels at all. If our standards are really high then we can compete with anyone and everyone, we’ve done that throughout the season So that’s our focus and that gives us the best chance to get the results that we need.”

While Luton have had a week off following Saturday’s humiliating reverse, tomorrow’s opponents Wolves were back in action on Wednesday night, losing 1-0 at home to AFC Bournemouth, stretching their own winless run to six league games, Gary O’Neil’s side taking just two points from a possible 18. Asked if their busier schedule could be an advantage for the Hatters, Edwards added: “We know how difficult the midweek games are for us and three game weeks are difficult in the Premier League.

"But the last time we played midweek against Arsenal, we played really well and won a game (beating Bournemouth), so I’m expecting the best Wolves tomorrow. They’ll want a reaction and they’ve done really well. I know they’ve had a difficult period, similar to us with injuries, lots of injuries and that clearly affects their performance levels, but I’ve watched some of their games and they're really competitive. Gary’s done a great job this year, people have spoken very well of him and rightly so.

"It was difficult circumstances he took over and they’ve done really well. They’ve got some very good players, they’ve got one or two coming back as well, so it’s going to be a really difficult game. They’ll probably be disappointed with midweek and they’ll want a reaction, which I’m sure they’ll be looking for, like ourselves as well. So two hungry teams, I expect a good game, a competitive game.”