If anyone thinks the Hatters are going to tackle the Premier League in any other way than the one that got them there, they’ll be heavily mistaken.
But while that first sentence can sometimes true, Town boss Rob Edwards knows what his team are going to need to be able to deal with a 38-game campaign in the Premier League that kicks off in three-and-a-half weeks’ time.
“The really good thing about us that we don’t have to change too much,” he said on day four of the Hatters’ training camp in Slovenia.
“I think some teams when they come up to the Premier League they’ve had to change because they’re coming up against a different level of opposition.
“People are well aware that we’re a team that wouldn’t necessarily dominate with the ball, we didn’t do that in the Championship last season, and 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 a have threat – and we’ve got to be good in transition, play quick and got to be good without the ball. But I want us to be better when we have it; basically building what we’ve done the last six months since we’ve been here – and what’s been done before – and be better at it.”
As well as ‘being better’ – sounds so simple, huh? – a couple of new faces are also what the Town need, according the manager.
Edwards has added three new faces to the squad already this summer and has tied down a number of players from last season’s success to extended contracts.
And it’s that mixture of team spirit and individual quality that the manager sees being the key to success next term.
“There’s a lot of conversations going on and the guys are working hard; they’ll be some incomings and also one or two moving out,” Edwards explained.
“It’s important we get a good idea and direction of how we want to shape the squad. We’ve got a core who have worked so hard to earn the opportunity to play in the Premier League – and they deserve it – but we know we need some people to come in and help and lift the quality – and help give the lads another little lift.
“We also need more competition in the group. That’s inevitable. We’ve come up to a really high level and we’re going to need a real right group like we have.
“We’ve got the team element of the sport, and then there’s the individual aspect as well; we want people to push past each other and lift other people’s performances.
“The players need to realise that and they do. They’ve come back in really good condition; they know what’s coming and they’re are working hard.”
