Despite coming off the back of a 3-1 beating from a confident Aston Villa, Luton's Rob Edwards brought forth a presence of determination in the face of Sunday's Liverpool-shaped challenge at Kenilworth Road.
Edwards briefly addressed the stars of Jurgen Klopp's side, the German manager himself, and much more.
Yet before that - it's best to begin this press conference recap with squad news ahead of the fourht-placed task at hand.
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Team news
At Luton's Brache training ground, the topic of injuries linger around as much as the sheer camaraderie.
For every Issa Kabore, Pelly Ruddock-Mpanzu pool frenzy, there's a quietly seated Dan Potts - or Jordan Clark walking out of the physio's office. Edwards addressed some of the key absentees.
“There’s not anyone coming back unfortunately. We are where we were before but the guys are making good progress. We’re a little bit down to the bare bones, but there are quite a few teams that’ll be in a similar position.
“We’ll see how he [Amari’i Bell] is. I don’t want to go ‘yeah, he’s alright’ and then the next week he goes down again. He’s working really hard.”
“Bez [Luke Berry] unfortunately just felt his calf muscle go in the warm up. He’s progressing nicely so yeah that’s just one he’s felt in the early stages of a training session. Clicker [Jordan Clark] is progressing really well, obviously he’s been out for a while so that one’s a real positive for us.”
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The mood ahead of Liverpool's visit
Before the Reds make the long trip south east, Edwards was keen to underline his continued excitement at playing the Premier League's biggest teams. However, as usual, the competitive edge wasn't far behind gushing sentiments.
“We’re looking forward to it like we have for every game, [it is a] really good occasion," he said.
"These are the moments, the types of games we wanted to have here (at Kenilworth Road). This is why we got promoted. The next thing is to prepare well and acquaint ourselves well in the game. We want to enjoy it but at the same time we want to try and find a result.”
A key question the Hatters' manager surrounded stopping Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez among a star-studded line-up. Edwards was realistic in his response.
“It’s difficult because a lot of people don’t, so we’ve got to be really, really good.
"We’ve got to defend really well and then, at the right moments, we’ve got to try and be good with the ball and attack at the right moments. It is a very difficult challenge for us but it’s clear as well, because you know what’s coming - Liverpool won’t change for us. It’s a good one to prepare for, and we’re really looking forward to it.”
“They’ve got one or two players now, like in Trent Alexander-Arnold who has been a really important player for them for a long time. His role is evolving in that team. (...) They're very well coached, and have top individuals which obviously makes for a difficult game.”
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Rival motivations, thoughts on Klopp, a free hit?
While Luton as a team entity take on Liverpool in this fresh Premier League challenge, there are a hardened few with top-flight experience that have faced the Anfield residents before. Players like Ross Barkley, Tahith Chong, and Teden Mengi were mentioned in their regards to former Merseyside foes.
“I think the motivation should be there anyway. I know the rivalry those clubs have with Liverpool but that motivation is there anyway. You want to succeed for Luton Town, for ourselves as well so that’s going to be our driving force.”
For Edwards, it would be easy to suggest that the young manager's motivation is around getting results, of course, but proving yourself to the Premier League elite.
The former Welsh international addressed this matchday's opposite number and whether he's going to enjoy facing Jurgen Klopp.
“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 what he’s done and what he’s doing. It’s going to be a privilege to be out there stood opposite him. Incredible moment.”
Now, no doubt Luton's preparations for this first Premier League term took into consideration where and when hard games would come about. Yet, at the beginning of a tough run of games, Rob Edwards was clear that no game in this league was a free hit - even for the biggest teams.
“No. No, it’s another opportunity to try and win a game," he said.
"So, like I said at Villa away last week, we know how difficult the challenge was but we’re not going to be defined by these games. It’s an opportunity for us to win. It’s an opportunity for us, if we don’t win, to try and get something from it. So we don’t see it that way at all."
"I understand the question of course, Liverpool are a massive club and a team that are doing really well at the moment so I know they’ll be huge favourites for the game.
"But we see it as a chance that if we can get things right and execute what we want to try and do - we’re going to have to be very good. This is a chance for us to win a game of football so, we don’t see it as a free hit, no.”
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The lay of the land, a third the way through the season...
While Luton, of course, have fallen foul a couple of times to the pace and level of the top-tier - they've admittedly showed moments where they look to keep up esteemed opponents. A third of the way through the season already - was Rob Edwards happy with his side?
Would he have taken being a point above the drop if you'd asked him at the start of the season? The boss' answer spoke volumes on what Luton are trying to do with their football club.
“No. I think we could be doing better. I think there’s a few teams where we could’ve done better. I think there were some points we left out there, I really do. There’s been some good things as well, no doubt about that. There’s been some good performances and I think there can be a lot of hope there as well, a lot to look forward to."
"I think we can see the team’s really committed and giving it absolutely everything all the time. But in the end, it doesn’t matter how well you’re competing, it’s the points that matter and that’s what we’ve got to try and find now. We haven’t got enough after ten games. It’s going to be difficult, and like you say there’s a difficult run of games to get those points. But we’ve got to be believe we can.”
