Hatters chief on the 'privilege' of going up against 'excellent' Reds boss Jurgen Klopp

Luton boss Rob Edwards thinks it will be a ‘privilege’ to find himself going up against one of the top managers in the game when he takes on Liverpool chief Jurgen Klopp this afternoon.

The 56-year-old German has had an enormously successful career to date, winning promotion with Mainz 05 when starting out in 2003, then leading Borussia Dortmund to the Bundesliga title twice, plus two DFL Supercups, one DFP Pokal Cup, also finishing as runners-up in the Champions League too.

Heading to Anfield in 2015, Klopp took a few years to add to the Reds’ already heaving trophy cabinet, but has since won the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and Community Shield, transferring that success to Europe as well, lifting the Champions League, Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.

Despite being an exchange student in Luton as a teenager, today will be the first time Klopp has been to Kenilworth Road, and asked if he is looking forward to pitting his wits against him, Edwards said: “We’ll see if I enjoy it!

"He’s excellent, he’s one of the best in the world.

"I’ve got a lot of admiration for him, what he’s done and what he’s doing.

"It’s a real privilege to be out there stood opposite him, it will be an incredible moment.”

After a disappointing fifth place finish last term with Liverpool missing out on Champions League football, Klopp has rebuilt over the summer, shelling out around £150m to bring in a host of new players, including Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Wataru Endo.

He has kept hold of talismanic forward Mo Salah as well, despite interest from Saudi Arabia, the Egyptian international responding with a haul of 10 goals from 14 outings in all competitions.

Edwards continued: “They’ve got threats all over the pitch in terms of personnel, but their model is winning the ball back as soon as possible, something they've done since Jurgen Klopp has been at the football club.

"They’re excellent at that, so when we win the ball back we’ve got to make sure we’re very, very good and try to make sure we don’t get caught in that initial press that’s inevitably going to come.

“They solve problems, they’re very good at finding spaces and solving problems."

The game will come under the spotlight even more this afternoon, with it taking place live on Sky Sports at 4.30pm as part of the station’s Super Sunday event.

Whether it will lead to any more anticipation from Luton’s players ahead of the fixture, Edwards added: “I think there’s been a focus to every game and the build up to this one is exciting.

"Sunday on the TV, there’s a little bit more around it, but we’ll treat it as we’ve gone about every other game so far, put the same amount of work in and try not to overdo it as well.

"We can’t lose sight on what it is, it's a game of football.

"A big, big club, yes there’ll be a lot of interest in it, but we’ve got to concentrate on us.

“We’re well aware that will be difficult for us again but we’ll have a good plan and we’ll try our best.

"I don’t think many people would expect us to get too much from Villa away, Liverpool and Manchester United, but we’ll try.

"We believe that we can do something, but if we do we’ve got to be almost perfect.”