'​Relaxed' Luton defender Osho is revelling in the belief shown in him by Hatters boss

​​Luton defender Gabe Osho is revelling in the belief shown in him by new boss Rob Edwards since the former Forest Green chief came in as Nathan Jones’ replacement recently.

The 24-year-old had an inconsistent start to the season, beginning just six league games from the opening 20 under Jones, which included getting sent off in the final seconds of a cameo during Town’s 4-0 defeat to Watford.

Once Edwards took over, Osho started the manager’s first game away at Middlesbrough, keeping his place for the Boxing Day clash with Norwich City, only to see red again with nine minutes remaining for two bookings, the first of which was never a foul, let alone a booking.

Missing wins over QPR and Huddersfield, the ex-Reading youngster was back in the side for the 1-1 FA Cup third round draw with Wigan and has has now started three of the last four games.

On the campaign and his recent dismissals, Osho said: “It has been stop-start, the Watford one, loss of head, doesn’t really happen, I’m not really that type of player normally.

“The Norwich one was a bit unfortunate, so it’s not been the greatest half of the season, but the manager has come in and said, ‘we believe in you Gabe, so just play your normal game.’

“I think now just being a bit more relaxed is really helping me.

“When I got sent off, it was a bit nerve-wracking thinking ‘how is he going to take that?’

“But the staff were brilliant with me, so I really appreciate that.”

One thing that has shone out in Osho’s recent matches is his ability to step out from the back and unfurl some terrific pinpoint long range passes to either flank.

It was the case at the DW Stadium on Saturday, when receiving Ethan Horvath’s throw, he picked out team-mate Elijah Adebayo, as four touches later, the ball was in the back of the hosts’ net.

Osho added: “It’s something I’ve always had, but the staff identified and just said, ‘this is one of your strengths, you have to show it or it’s no good really having it.’

“I’ve been trying to implement that more into the game, I think we’ve been playing a little bit more, so it really helps me to show that.”

The fact that Osho was on the pitch to put in a solid shift of just over an hour until making way for Reece Burke had been in doubt prior to kick-off as he added: “I picked up a knock in the warm-up, but gaffer just said ‘am I all right?’

"I tried to give it all I could, 60 minutes was probably me, but it just shows the squad we have.

"Burkey was more than capable to step in and he kept a clean sheet for us as well.

“It’s not ideal, but we’re a good team, everyone pushes each other, so if I come off, Burkey can step in well and vice versa.

“Everyone wants to play all the games that they can, I’m no different, I want to play all the games.

"The manager will pick the team, every team the manager picks is the best team for that game, so we just have to stay as a team and perform when we can.”