Luton Town manager makes Premier League demand before Newcastle United clash

Rob Edwards has urged his Luton Town players to “be at full tilt every day” or forget about Premier League survival.

Few expected the Hatters to beat the drop at the start of the campaign. Just 14 years ago, the club were on the brink of extinction and competing in the Conference - now the National League - English football’s fifth tier.

A meteoric rise from the abyss has resulted in Luton returning to the top flight for the first time since 1992. But the contrast in finances to Premier League heavyweights has most expecting an immediate return to the Championship.

However, the Hatters are refusing to go down without a fight, with Kenilworth Road becoming a key weapon in their bid to stay up. Newcastle United were stunned in December when Andros Townsend’s first-half strike sent them back up the A1 empty-handed.

Brighton were the latest team to come undone by the Kenilworth roar - suffering a humiliating 4-0 defeat on Tuesday. The win lifted them one point above the relegation zone ahead of their trip to St James’ Park.

Luton boss Edwards demanded his players not to ease off in a post-match battle cry before taking on Newcastle. He said: "It's still only three points. It's good for our confidence and belief. Tonight will get more headlines because of who it was against.

“We were ruthless, and maybe we could have been more ruthless. I was still jumping around at 4-0 because we got a bit sloppy at times. We've got to keep our foot down. We've got to be at full tilt every day, otherwise we've got no chance."