Edwards hails ‘exceptional’ De Zerbi and believes 'complicated' Brighton clash is an 'amazing challenge' for Hatters

Luton boss Rob Edwards has hailed Roberto De Zerbi as an ‘exceptional’ manager and says tomorrow’s clash against Brighton & Hove Albion is a ‘fantastic’ way for the Hatters to kick-off their Premier League campaign.

Town head to the south coast on Saturday afternoon as their long-awaited return to the top flight gets underway. They face a team who have won admirers all over the globe for their free-flowing style of football and the way in which they have established themselves as a top-eight Premier League side under De Zerbi.

"I think he's excellent and what he and his team have done is top,” said Edwards. “It's a fantastic opening game for us and an amazing challenge and one we're really looking forward to.

"It's almost as complicated a game as you can get, especially away from home, but it's a great one for us. We will have to be more intelligent now, particularly without the ball, but we still want to be aggressive and we want to be brave.

"But we'll also have to be a lot cleverer and a lot cuter in the way we go about things without the ball because we know they'll have more of it. They have more of it against most teams. It's about respecting that but also capitalising on moments as well and that's been a big part of our preparation work.”

Brighton will play European football this year after finishing sixth in the Premier League last season and they have been widely tipped to go well again despite losing key midfielder Alexis Mac Allister. Moises Caicedo is also on the verge of joining either Liverpool or Chelsea.

"I expect them to keep growing and keep improving,” continued Edwards. “Roberto's done an incredible job and he made an incredible impact last season, everyone knows that, but club has been building for a long time.

"There's been a plan and Roberto came in and had an exceptional impact. He's put his stamp on it and everyone in the whole world has taken notice of what he's doing there and I expect them to be even better. Even when they lose players, they have a plan for the next ones to come in so they'll be stronger and they'll keep growing."

Brighton and Brentford have both proven in recent years that it is possible to be promoted from the Premier League and not just survive but thrive, even on a comparatively small budget.

Edwards added: "We're different to Brighton and I won't say we'll try and copy them but with them, and with Brentford as well, there are some brilliant models that have come up, stayed up and are starting to really flourish in the Premier League.

"It shows it can be done but we're Luton Town, we aren't Brighton or Brentford and we won't try to be them. We will be ourselves and we will do things a little bit differently."