Edwards knows Luton have to be 'defensively perfect' to pick up points in the top flight

​​Luton boss Rob Edwards knows his side need to be near enough ‘defensively perfect’ if they are to start picking up the results required to make sure their stay in the top flight is prolonged beyond May of next year.

The Hatters manager was talking after securing a first Premier League point of the season at the weekend, as Town earned a 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers at Kenilworth Road.

Edwards knew he should have really been discussing an opening victory though, after witnessing his side dominate throughout, sending 20 shots at keeper Jose Sa’s goal, striker Carlton Morris crashing a wonderful effort against the post.

However, despite being reduced to 10 men late in the first half, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde dismissed, the visitors highlighted the difference between where Luton have come from and where they are now, when a long ball was played upfield five minutes after the break.

Portuguese international Pedro Neto was on it in a flash, and with Town skipper Tom Lockyer caught out, he cut inside, dummied past Reece Burke and lashed beyond Thomas Kaminski, with what was Wolves’ first attempt on target.

Town did hit back to draw level thanks to Morris’s spot-kick when Joao Gomes was penalised for handling Issa Kabore’s cross, as they went on to create further opportunities, but were unable to find the net from open play.

Edwards said: “That’s Premier League football, to him that’s probably a big chance, once he’s worked it really well to get there.

"You can’t give that away there as you’re going to get punished.

"We’ve got to be almost defensively perfect, or to get something your goalkeeper is going to need to make a save, or you have to make some brilliant blocks.

"We didn’t really have to do that much of that, just once, but that’s all they needed.

"It just shows that the league is full of quality and in any one moment, it can shift and it can change.”

Kaminski kept Town in the game shortly afterward with a fine double save from Mario Lemina and Maximilian Kilman, before Luton did restore parity thanks to Morris’s second of the season, which like his first, was from 12 yards.

Edwards believed that getting a result after conceding the opening goal was something his side could use in their favour, as he continued: “There’s bits that we can lean on going forward now as we’re going to go behind again in the season.

"We’ve shown now we can come back, the 10 men thing doesn't really matter as you could see we were the better team when it was 11 versus 11.

"It maybe changed the psychological side a little bit now as it puts more pressure on us, a bit more expectation.

"The crowd think we’ve been really good with 11 men, it’s going to be easy now and it’s not, because it’s a really high level.

“There are good things there, we’ve come back and got something from a game we’ve gone behind in, so that’s something we haven’t done yet.”

Luton head to Everton this weekend having completed five matches in the top flight now, in which they have managed to take just one point.

Giving an overview on how he felt their first efforts in their new surroundings have been, Edwards added: “We’ve not been great yet, I think we’re getting better, but we’re still a work in progress.

"Against Brighton, we gave too many big chances away and did the same against Chelsea.

"We’re finding ways to be more competitive and get points on the board.

"We could have got something against Fulham and we could have got something here against West Ham, I don’t think anyone could doubt that, based on chances and how the games went.

"So we haven’t been great, but we’re getting better and I’ve got to stress that, but you have got to be very, very, very good to get points in this league that’s for sure.”