Ex-Arsenal defender Martin Keown wants Luton to 'wake up' and show some 'personality' in the Premier League

Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown believes Luton need to ‘wake up’ and show some of the ‘personality’ that got them to the top flight as they bid to get their Premier League season started when taking on Wolverhampton Wanderers at Kenilworth Road this afternoon.

The Hatters’ first season at the highest tier of English football in over 30 years has seen them beaten in all four matches so far, as they are bottom of the table, yet to register a point.

Against Fulham last week, although Luton created the better chances during the 90 minutes, they conceded 78 percent of the ball to their hosts, who eventually took advantage of their greater share of possession when Carlos Vinicius scored the only goal of the game on the hour mark.

Writing in his online column for the Daily Mail, Keown, who won the Premier League three times in his career while at the Gunners, also gaining three FA Cup and one European Cup Winners' Cup medals, along with 43 England caps too, urged Town to throw off the shackles as they go up against a Wolves side with just three points to their name.

He said: “If you lack a balanced game plan, the Premier League is so ruthless and unforgiving that it will eat you up and spit you out.

“Luton’s season needs to start on Saturday, at home to Wolves.

"They have sleepwalked to the bottom of the table after four defeats in which they have mustered a measly seven shots on target and now is the time to wake up.

“I’ve seen a whole-hearted dedication to defending from Rob Edwards’ team, but nowhere near enough commitment to attacking.

"There needs to be a better balance and this is the beginning of a three-game run against opponents in the bottom five — Wolves at home, Everton away, Burnley at home — which will shape their season.

“Luton need to cut loose and show some of the personality and character which got them to the Premier League in the first place. More shots. More crosses. More headers.

“Against Fulham last weekend, there was not enough attacking intent and they didn’t press high up the pitch.

"Instead, they retreated to within 10 yards of their own box, which allowed Fulham to dictate the play, grow in confidence and attack freely.

“Jacob Brown was so hellbent on tracking Timothy Castagne that he was practically playing the role of a sixth defender

“When you sacrifice attackers to that extent, any chance of hurting your opponent on the counter becomes nigh on impossible.

“It only takes one mistake to undo all of your hard work, which happened when Luton goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski spilled the ball to Carlos Vinicius for Fulham’s winner.

"On the very rare occasions when Luton tried to make use of their front players, they posed problems, but the attackers were surviving on scraps.”

Hatters boss Rob Edwards has kept faith with the back five that saw Town reach the top flight via the play-offs, sticking with the three centre halves and two wingbacks in his side’s four Premier League outings to date.

Keown, a defender of some repute in his time, believes a switch could pay dividends when going up against sides who should be in and around them this term, as he continued: “Luton can take inspiration from other promoted clubs who adapted to the Premier League, and maybe now is the time for Luton to move away from a back five with a run of games against opponents in the bottom five.

“This season, they have averaged 31 per cent possession — the lowest in the Premier League — and are only completing 206 passes per game on average.

"Luton’s ultimate aim is to make sure they are better than just three other teams and survive.

“We have seen signs of life from Burnley, who are sticking to their beliefs under Vincent Kompany, but now it is Luton’s turn.

"Kenilworth Road wasn’t ready for the start of the season, the team hasn’t looked ready, either.

"But if they are to stand any chance of surviving, Saturday needs to be the game in which they show some attacking intent.

"There is no time to lose if they’re going to stay up.”

Speaking his pre-match press conference, boss Rob Edwards did agree that after getting used to their new surroundings at the top table of English football once more, it’s time to get things going on the pitch, as he added: “I think we’ve seen a lot of it now, we’ve experienced those four games.

"There’s an understanding, the players, when we’re talking to them and going through stuff, they understand the speed things happen at now.

"They get what we’re asking them to do, the little differences from last year, so maybe, yes, we’re going to start to need to get it going sooner rather than later, the sooner the better.

"We’ve had some good experiences now, we’ve done the home game, so let’s get it going.”