Edwards would love to cause a 'little bit of panic' in Luton's top flight survival battle

Luton chief Rob Edwards would love to cause a bit more ‘panic’ to some of the more established Premier League clubs and drag them into a relegation battle this season.

After 13 games of the season have been completed, the Hatter find themselves in 17th position, four points away from the dreaded dotted line having earned a vital first home win of the season when beating Crystal Palace last weekend.

The victory means Luton are three points behind AFC Bournemouth and four away from Nottingham Forest, with Fulham, Palace and Wolves all six clear of Edwards’ team.

Today’s opponents Brentford are seven in front, as are Chelsea in 10th, so a win at the Gtech Stadium could see Luton begin to bridge that gap to those above them, as Edwards said: “We’ve got to be careful that we don’t set too many goals, what we try and do is focus on ourselves.

"Of course we’re aware of where we are in the table and the number of points we are away from teams. We know that a win in this league can really make a difference, just one, and it would be great to bring one two more of them into the mix, into the equation.

"But again all we can do is focus on ourselves and if we don’t do our job, it doesn’t matter what’s going on ahead of us and above us. So it would be brilliant to be able to bring a few more teams into that and cause a little bit more panic, but we’ve got to do our job first.”

The chance of doing that look bitterly difficult on paper as after today’s trip to the Bees, Luton then entertain Arsenal and Manchester City on Tuesday and Sunday, the pair currently first and second in the table.

Asked if that added any more pressure on today’s visit to west London, Edwards continued: “No, no matter who we had next, Brentford’s just really, really important. It’s the next game, the next opportunity for us to pick up points, we’ll be really respectful to them and we have been all week when preparing for this game.

"They’re really good, they’re very good in lots of areas of the game. In possession, very clear, transitions they’re excellent defensively they’re organised and then very good with set-pieces.

"All moments of the game, they’re very well coached, so we’ve put all our energy and focus on to this game. We’re aware of what’s coming next, but we can’t think about that, and it doesn't matter who we have after Brentford, it’s really important as it’s the next chance to get three points.”

Although Town can go into the contest with their confidence boosted by the home victory last weekend, Edwards stated they had remained grounded by the events at Kenilworth Road, adding: “We’re not getting carried away, it was a good result but it wasn’t a perfect performance by any stretch.

"It was a close game, Crystal Palace have got some brilliant players and they showed that at times. They played well and could have easily got something from the game as well.

"At the point of us getting that second goal, we were probably just edging it at that stage and then we looked to defend it a little bit. They throw everything at us and could have got something late on, but credit to the players for finding a way to win.

"It was an important victory, getting that first win at home was a good feeling. It was an important three points, but it’s been business as usual this week preparing for the next game.”