Rob Edwards apologises as he discusses Luton job security after heavy Middlesbrough loss
Luton Town boss Rob Edwards apologised to Luton town supporters after their 5-1 defeat to Middlesbrough and admitted he didn't know what his future held as pressure grew on his position.
Edwards, who had been a contender for the Boro job two years ago when Michael Carrick was appointed, took over at Luton soon after and, despite losing his first game in charge at the Riverside, he guided the Hatters to promotion to the Premier League. But after relegation at the first time of asking, this season has been a lot tougher for Edwards and Luton.
Struggling to get over the hangover of relegation, Luton have won only four games and sit fourth bottom of the Championship table after Saturday's 5-1 defeat to Boro. Heading into an international break, it was a result that piled the pressure on the 41-year-old, as he addressed his future in the aftermath.
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He said: "My main concern right now and the people I feel for most most are the supporters who either got up really this morning to make it here because of the time of the kick-off, a long, long way, or came up last night and spent even more money and I feel for them right now.
"I feel quite numb. A horrible, horrible day for us, one of those days when you want the ground to swallow you up in the end the way it was going. A really difficult day and the supporters are the main concern and I just want to apologise to them.
“It’s not a good result and results haven't been good enough. I'm realistic, whatever will be will be. I'm not in control of that stuff, I love this football club and whatever is best for the football club is the right thing. I and we have given everything for this football club. I’ve loved the two years, it’s been one hell of a ride and we’ve achieved things that probably no-one thought was possible.
"So if that is it, then I and we can hold our heads high as we've given everything and if it’s not then we continue to fight. I don’t want to be a divisive figure here as it’s the supporters who are the most important people at any football club and they’re the ones that are making that noise and they’re the ones that let us know.
"I’m realistic. Today was not a good day but I’m proud of the work we’ve done here. There’s been a lot of challenges and it’s been difficult, but the football club always comes first. I'm a big man and I know how the game works. I love this club and whatever is the right thing is the right thing, I've tried my best.”
On the game more specifically, the downcast boss said: "The first half an hour was good. We made some changes to the team to try and freshen things up and, until their first goal, it was a good performance. We made a couple of mistakes though and found ourselves 2-0 down at half-time.
"And then bang bang, we find ourselves 4-0 down so soon after half-time, with more mistakes costing us. It was almost like, 'wow, what's happened here'. It's one of those days. It's difficult, and you almost want the ground to swallow you up. It was tough."