Edwards ready for an 'intense atmosphere' when Town head to Ewood Park

Luton boss Rob Edwards is readying his side for an ‘intense atmosphere’ when the Hatters head to play-off chasing Blackburn Rovers this evening.

The hosts go into the game having dropped out of the top six recently following a poor run of form at just the wrong time of the season, going seven games without a win, and taking just four points from a possible 21.

They were beaten 1-0 last time out in front of their own supporters by fierce rivals Burnley, who secured the Championship title in the process, a game that the Hatters had representatives in the stands for.

Although Edwards knows it will be a different occasion when he takes his side to Ewood Park, the Town chief said: “Richie (Kyle, assistant) went to the game, I watched it on the TV.

"I know it was a real big derby game and what it meant, but Richie said how impressed he was with the atmosphere.

"It was really lively, really intense and the players fed off that as well.

"It might be difficult for them to get as up for Luton coming as it is for Burnley, we all know what it was like for Watford coming to our place not so long ago, but we do expect an intense atmosphere.

"I think that's good for us as well, as it will keep us engaged and right at it as well.”

Town picked up a 2-2 draw at Ewood Park last season, a game in which they were trailing 2-0 with 17 minutes remaining, only for Luke Berry to come off the bench and score twice to secure a point.

Although the Hatters usually failed to win when conceding first under previous boss Nathan Jones, it is something they have managed to put right since Edwards took over.

Six times they have been breached first, but fought back to win three, draw two and suffer just the one defeat.

It could be an important factor ahead of the play-offs too, as Edwards added: “It’s really important and it gives you belief.

"There might be around six league games where we’ve gone behind in, and Burnley is the one where we’ve not come back and got something from.

"We got draws against Millwall, Reading and then we’ve come back and beaten Blackpool, Huddersfield, we won the other night (against Middlesbrough) from behind, so that’s nine points we’ve got from losing situations.

"Then a couple of really good draws after going 2-0 down and 1-0 down against a team fighting for their lives away from home (Reading), so the boys can come back.

"There should be a lot of belief there and I know when I was involved in a team that got promoted out of this division in the play-offs (Blackpool), we went behind twice in the final in the first half and came back.

"We were 3-2 up by half time, we went 1-0 down and 2-1 down, and I was actually speaking to Ian Holloway the other day, but Ollie’s message was always, if we concede, you grab the ball, stick your chest out, put it down and go and score more than them.

"We talk a lot about being brave here and taking risks and we know things are going to happen and we’ve just got to deal with it.

"What do you want to do if you concede? Do you want to start moping around, put our heads down and concede again?

"No, we’ve got to go and fight and get back in the game.

"This group have done it and they’ve done it really well on a number of occasions, so that should give us real belief and strength going into these important games.”