Edwards admits he's 'nervous but excited' ahead of Premier League opener against Brighton

Hatters chief Rob Edwards described himself as ‘nervous but excited’ as he prepares to lead Luton in tomorrow’s eagerly-anticipated Premier League opener against Brighton & Hove Albion.

For the first time in more than 30 years, the Hatters will experience a taste of top flight football when they take to the field at the Amex Stadium to face Roberto De Zerbi's much-fancied Seagulls.

"Nervous but excited,” replied Edwards when asked how he’s feeling 48 hours out from Luton’s opener. “I think that’s normal because we have a big season ahead and it’s been a long time coming and all that elation from Wembley now turns into something very real.

"We feel ready and I’m proud to be here. You don’t really think about it in the moment because you’re always thinking ‘what’s next?’ and it’s hard in football to take stock and reflect on achievements. I’ve found it difficult to think ‘oh, that was good’ but I am extremely proud (to be a Premier League manager) and it’s been an aim of mine for a long, long time.

"Everyone in football is ambitious and we all want to work at the highest level and I think everyone would agree that the Premier League is the highest level at the moment, but none of us have got a crystal ball and we don’t know what’s going to happen.

"The teams at the top end have collected a lot more points in recent seasons and maybe there’s not been as much at the bottom so who knows how it’s going to go, but all I want is for us to be competitive in every game. We can’t control what other teams do.”

Brighton finished sixth last season and have just today agreed to sell midfielder Moisés Caicedo for £110million to Liverpool, highlighting the scale of the challenge that awaits Luton – but it's something which excites Edwards.

Asked what he believes the biggest challenge will be, Edwards replied: “It’s the fact that it is the highest level. Yes, you have international football and Champions League but in terms of league football, I think this is as good as it gets.

"It’s been an ambition of mine to try and work at this level. I wasn’t good enough as a player to play for more than 10 games in the Premier League but I’m hoping to get more than that as a manager! It’s something I’m extremely proud of and I’m looking forward to every single challenge.

"It’ll make me better and it’ll make us better as a group. We’ll have to learn and we’ll have to learn quickly but it’s where we want to be and it’s where everyone wants to be and we deserve to be here. We finished third in the Championship, we won the play-offs and we’re going to give it a good crack.”