Hatters boss eager to highlight Luton's 'unique' Premier League stat

Luton boss Rob Edwards felt it was important to highlight what he expects is a rather ‘unique’ stat that sees the Hatters as one of the top scorers in the division when it comes to the final stages of a Premier League contest this term.

Striker Jacob Brown’s winner against Crystal Palace on Saturday was Town’s 12th of the campaign in the top flight so far and the eighth they have managed between minutes 76-90.

It means that only Arsenal and Liverpool have netted more in that time, with nine each, while the Hatters are level with Manchester City as the next two teams on eight.

With two of Luton’s other goals timed at 65 and 72 minutes, then it means 10 of their strikes have been in the second half, with Town only netting in the first period once, the 2-1 win at Everton, when both Tom Lockyer and Carlton Morris were on target ahead of the half time whistle.

Considering that Town were plying their trade in the Championship last term, then the ability and belief possessed by the squad to consistently score so late in a game, against a higher class of opposition than they have been used to, is something that Edwards believe warrants a mention.

He said: “I think it’s brilliant and I might be wrong, but I think that might be quite unique in the Premier League after this amount of games, for a team that’s just been promoted. Normally you would see some of the clubs at the top end of the table scoring late, and being at the top of that stat, so I think it shows how fit the group are.

"I think it shows there’s a desire, a determination, a fighting spirit here, an organisation as well and a team that never ever quits, never surrenders. It's really important that we talk about that and we keep hitting that home as well as the players really do believe that late in the game if we’re in it, then we can score and win points.

"We’ve done it already and we’ve got to continue to try and be able to do that.”

Meanwhile when Brown did find the net, it was the fourth time a substitute had done so for the Hatters, Elijah Adebayo bagging both of his goals from the bench in the matches with Burnley and Nottingham Forest, with Tahith Chong’s opener against Liverpool arriving after he was also introduced.

Edwards felt it showed those that despite not making it into his starting 11, they still had a vital role to play in proceedings, continuing: “There’s always going to be disappointment, Thursday and Friday is the hardest, whenever I announce the team, it’s so difficult as I know how desperate everyone is to play and you’ve got to let some people down.

"It can be difficult, but the only way you can go about that is by working extremely hard, showing the right attitude and then when you come on, take your opportunity. We’re going to need everybody this season if we’re going to be successful, it’s not going to be down to 11 people, it’s just not possible in this day and age now.

"The lads have already shown the importance of the whole group and we’ll continue to value that and I’ll talk about that. It's really, really important, especially now when the game is so intense, no-one can play every minute of every game any more.”

With Luton now facing seven games in December, then Edwards knows the whole squad, those starting and those on the bench, will be of vital significance before the turn of the year.

He added: “I’ve been reiterating that this week, the importance of the group, especially now you look at this period now. It’s going to be busy for everyone, there’s so many games, we’re going to have to change the team at times, people are going to have to understand why, and then we’re going to need them to impact the game really, really well when they come on.

"In the main we’ve had that this season. We’ve had a number of players who have come off the bench and scored, but then a number of players who have come on and impacted the game in a positive way. So that goes without saying, but we do say it, we do stress the importance of that.”