Ex-Hatters top flight midfielder knows Luton's away form will be crucial in the Premier League

Ex-Hatters midfielder Wayne Turner believes that Luton's away form is going to be absolutely crucial in their bid to try and stay in the Premier League this term.

The 62-year-old, who made 102 appearances over a seven year spell at Kenilworth Road, is now back with Town for yet another stint, appointed head of academy development back in May.

Having had experience of going up against top flight sides on a regular basis during his playing days, and after witnessing Luton in action last term when doing some commentary for the club channels, he knows how to set up on the travels is something of a conundrum for manager Rob Edwards.

He said: “Away from home is going to be a real clever one for Rob and the boys, as they’ve got to think how are we going to do this?

“Are we going to press, are we going to sit off, or are we going to do a mid-block?

"And they’re going to have to make a decision, as a lot of the Premier league sides love the football and there aren’t many who don’t enjoy the ball.

“It’s what you do against that possession, so do you sit back and wait, or do you have a mid-block, or do you go after them?

“If you do one of three consistently you’ll be fine.

"If you do a bit of each you’ll get picked off and you’ll be in trouble and that’s the biggest thing that will be on the team’s mind when they do go away from home.

“It will be interesting to see, but we have got a bit of everything, mobility, pace, power, nous, strength.

“If you look at all over the pitch, we’ve got great mobility, so that’s key to have in the Premier League, you need mobility.

“Whatever happens, Rob and the staff will do what’s best for the club and what’s best for the players.”

With David Pleat in charge of Luton for the years that Turner was there, the legendary manager had an attacking intent wherever the Hatters were playing.

He knows that might not be possible this term, such is the massive improvement in standards now.

Turner continued: “With the foreign input, then there’s even more quality in the Premier League than when I played.

“But it’s still the same, away from home, you’ve got your work cut out if you’re not going to have the ball.

“We did, David wanted to attack, so we had games with big scorelines.

“We could counter attack, we tried at times, but we got involved in great football matches.

“If you did go too early in those days against the Liverpool’s and Man United’s you’d get cut open.

"Chelsea, I remember playing at Stamford Bridge and getting beat quite cleanly by them because it’s not going to be that much different against the big hitters.

“The big hitters are still the big hitters and the lower ones that you might be able to compete with and go and be able to play open football.

“You’ll look to do it, no different to what we did all those years ago.

“There’ll be certain times when you’re under the cosh and you know you’ve got to stay strong, stay resilient, stay organised on what you’ve worked on during the week, and then try and break on them.

“It will be not too dissimilar, it's moved on in those years, but it’s going to be the same mindset.

"You’ve either got the ball or you haven’t and if you get caught between the two you're in trouble.

Going in with a settled back three will suit the Hatters though, as Turner pinpointed Luton's solid defensive trio being a massive reason behind reaching the top flight last term.

He said: "When we really hit full throttle was when the back three was Amari’i Bell, (Tom) Lockyer and (Gabe) Osho.

"When that back three came across each other, whether it was by luck, injury, or design, they were outstanding.

"They've got the mobility and the pace to squeeze teams and they were happy to go three for three.

"Once you do that, at any level, you can then influence and overload in the rest of the pitch.

"With the pace of the wingbacks that we had, and the energy in midfield and the pace and strength upfront, that back three, playing at its best and squeezing the opposition, gave us a great platform.

"When we did it away from home, we were outstanding, and that back three for me set the tone for the rest of the team.

"You can go man for man when needed, not all the time, but when teams push men right up and you go man for man and you squash them, that’s how we could turn our superiority of the pitch into their half.

"I thought it was a massive plus and Rob and the boys must take great credit, however that came about, they kept it and those three boys were outstanding.

"It will be interesting though as the front three of a Premier League side are going to be better than the front three of a Championship side, that’s if they play with a three.

One thing that Turner is confident about though is results on home soil.

During his three seasons in the top flight, Luton won 26 from 63 matches in front of their own fans, as opposed to 15 away and it’s a stadium he, like many, feel will be a huge plus for them.

He added: “Nobody wants to come to the tin can, the tin can echoes and bellows and belts and the crowd are unbelievable.

“The whole thing is fantastic.

"Just to get us at home in the Premier League, trying to pressure teams, do what we’ve done for the last two seasons, the success we’ve had at home and Rob will do his game tactically with his group.

“But that will be the place where you’ll want to try and scare them to death on and off the field.

"That will be a great place to intimidate, in the nicest possible way, play some quality football, get some balls in the box and get those front lads on it and we’ll have a real chance I think.”