Luton boss hails the mature attitude of 'main man' Morris to spell out of the Hatters XI

Luton boss Rob Edwards hailed the attitude of ‘main man’ Carlton Morris to his spell on the bench in recent weeks.

The 28-year-old had begun all of Town’s opening 14 Premier League games of the season, scoring three goals in the process, two of them from the penalty spot. However, following the 3-1 defeat at Brentford on December 2, Morris saw his starting streak ended, with Elijah Adebayo coming in to replace him, and going on to produce an impressive display during the 4-3 home loss against Arsenal, on target early in the second half.

He kept his place for the 2-1 reverse against Manchester City, adding a fourth of the season with a towering header at the far post to move ahead of Morris in the scoring charts, going on to keep his spot in the side for the last four fixtures, catching the eye with his hold-up play when taking on the lone striker role.

With Morris having to bide his time, he had a superb impact on Boxing Day, as thrown on with 19 minutes to go at Sheffield United, he delivered two dangerous crosses that were deflected in by home defenders as Luton hit back from 2-1 down to earn a precious 3-2 triumph.

Speaking about his forward, who hit 20 goals in the Championship last term as Luton won promotion, Edwards said: “He is a main man and he wants to play, of course he does, but what he’s also been is incredibly mature about it as well.

"He understands the situation. Eli’s performances have been brilliant and he deserves to stay in the team. Carlton, he knows what I think of him, I absolutely love him and I’ll never waver on that. I love the man and he’s a huge inspirational figure for us. He’s really important and he’ll play a lot of games. If he doesn’t start he comes on, but it’s similar with Eli.

"He’s getting that opportunity now and what Eli’s done for this football club, he’s had a hell of a contribution as well. He’s in good form at the moment as well, it’s good for me to have these difficult decisions, that’s what I want.”