Realistic Edwards has no problems in accepting Luton will face some 'tough times' in the top flight

Luton boss Rob Edwards has no problems in addressing the fact his side will face some difficult periods during their first season back in the top flight this term, but will leave ‘no stone unturned’ in his bid to make sure Town’s stay is not a fleeting one.

A penalty shootout win over Coventry City in the play-off final at Wembley on May 27 means that Kenilworth Road will host Premier League football for the first time in its history, the competition known as Division One when the Hatters were last in it over 30 years ago.

With the elite clubs spending big during the transfer window in their attempts to catch champions Manchester City, Arsenal splashing out over £100m on Declan Rice from West Ham, Liverpool spending roughly that amount on both Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister, while Manchester United and Chelsea have parted with over £50m each on Mason Mount and Christopher Nkunku respectively, it shows, as if the Hatters didn’t already know, just what they are up against.

Luton themselves have broken their own transfer record twice, signing Mads Andersen from Barnsley and Birmingham City’s Tahith Chong for a reported £4m, as Edwards has confirmed there will be further additions to a squad he is eager to bolster for what lies ahead.

The Town chief is okay with the fact that the future will no doubt contain some sticky spells for a side who have been used to winning in the last two seasons, on their way to finishes of third and sixth in the second tier, as speaking to the club’s official website, he said: “We know, and I think we all know, and it’s alright to talk about, that there’s going to be tough times this year, everyone accepts that.

“I think that any team that comes up and is promoted to the Premier League knows that there are going to be some difficult moments, but what we’ve got to guarantee is that we will give everything, every single minute.

“I want us to have a never-say-die attitude, I want us to be competitive in every game.

"Ultimately there is a goal, to stay in this league, but every day we’ve got to fight and work extremely hard; be better than we were last year, and continue to be better tactically, technically and physically.

"It’s going to be a big, big test for all of us and we can’t wait, we’re really looking forward to it.

“The joy we have given the fans at Wembley will live with me forever, now we want to make them proud in the Premier League and we will give them everything.”

With Edwards taking his first pre-season with the Hatters, having been in charge at Luton for just over eight months now, he has been buoyed by the fact that there won’t be any dramatic changes to the way Town want to go about their style of play, despite going up against a massively superior level of opponent than they have been used to.

He continued: “The really good thing for us we haven't got to change too much.

“I think some teams who have come up to the Premier League, some of them have had to change because you’re coming up against a different level of opposition.

“People will be well aware that we weren't necessarily a team that would dominate with the ball last year in the Championship.

“We’re not expecting to do that in the Premier League and that’s okay.

“What we’ve got to do is remain a threat, we’ve got to have a threat, we’ve got to be extremely good in transitions.

"We've got to be able to play quickly, got to be very good without the ball, but I want us to be better when we have it

“So basically building on what we did last year, for the six months since we’ve been here and all the work that's gone on before and try to be better at it.”

Edwards and his team area currently away in Slovenia for a training camp, before returning home for friendlies against Ipswich, Sheffield Wednesday, Wolves and then travelling to Germany to face top flight side VfL Bochum.

With that in mind, the Town boss is aware how hard the players will need to work to get up to speed with just what is expected of them ahead of the Premier League opener at Brighton on August 12, adding: “We know we're going to come up against the best managers, a lot of the best players, which is an amazing challenge for us, so it's not like anyone is going to be too surprised about what we're coming up against.

"We see it every week but we know our levels have got to improve, we've got to be better tactically, so we've got to go into another level of detail.

“We're going to have to leave no stone unturned and while you come out together for a week, you've got a lot of time, you can grab someone for a conversation in the evening when normally they'd be at home, so you've got a lot of time to get a lot work done during this week.

"For some of the new players we can introduce our style, our gameplan and how we work to them and they've got a real understanding of it already.

"They're intelligent players and are coachable because they've come through the academy system, they are used to having information, they take it on really, really well.

“We try and keep things very clear and not over complicated and that’s something that the lads will appreciate as we’ve got to have a freedom in our structure to make decisions.

"So pre-season is a great time to get them fit, but building on our tactical work and make sure we’ve got a real understanding of how we're going to play.”