Pundit Andy Hinchcliffe insists he is not concerned by Luton Town’s poor start to the season in the Championship, and he believes the Hatters will finish in the play-off places.
Luton were relegated from the Premier League last term after just one year in the top flight, but they are aiming to bounce back at the first attempt this season.
It was a fairly quiet summer at Kenilworth Road in terms of incomings, with just six new players arriving during the course of the transfer window, but the Hatters have entered the free agent market this week to sign former Chelsea and Inter Milan winger Victor Moses.
| Luton Town summer signings | ||
| Player | From | Loan/Permanent |
| Reuell Walters | Arsenal | Permanent |
| Mark McGuinness | Cardiff City | Permanent |
| Shandon Baptiste | Brentford | Permanent |
| Liam Walsh | Swansea City | Permanent |
| Lamine Fanne | AIK | Permanent |
| Tom Krauss | Mainz | Loan |
| Victor Moses | Free agent | Permanent |
There were also a number of departures over the summer, including the likes of Gabriel Osho, Ryan Giles, Dan Potts, Luke Berry, Ross Barkley, Fred Onyedinma, Chiedozie Ogbene and John McAtee, but Luton managed to keep hold of most of their key players.
On the pitch, it has been an incredibly disappointing start to the season for the Hatters, and they currently sit 23rd in the Championship table after picking up just one point from their opening four games.
Luton are back in action when they make the trip to face Millwall at The Den on Saturday as the second tier resumes following the international break, and they will be looking to record their first win of the campaign.
Andy Hinchcliffe issues confident Luton Town claim
Hinchcliffe says that there is no reason for Luton to panic amid their underwhelming start, and he believes that with two prolific strikers in Elijah Adebayo and Carlton Morris, the Hatters will finish in the play-off places this season.
“I’m a big fan of stats and data, and looking at their actual performances, they have been performing top 10, but they haven’t been taking their chances and conceding soft goals,” Hinchcliffe said on the Sky Sports Championship Catch-up podcast.
“They’ve kept some of their best players, Adebayo has stayed, Morris has stayed, and they’re two strikers that you think eventually will get 15 goals a piece, so surely that will fire you into the top six.
“I don’t think there’ll be any panic in the Luton dressing room.
“From what I’ve seen of them so far, they’ve not necessarily struggled, they just haven’t won games.
“They’ve played reasonably well, they could have picked up different results in those games and they’ve just got to keep at it.
“Rob knows the Championship, the players do as well, it’s a long haul and they’ve had the international break to let things settle down in terms of who’s there and who’s not.
“They’ve got a lot of their defensive injuries back and that will help to give them a stable base.
“They won’t be far off, they are, for me, guaranteed top six.
“It’s a poor start, but I think there are reasons behind it.”
Luton Town must keep Rob Edwards faith as pressure builds
Luton were widely expected to be among the promotion contenders in the Championship this season, so it is a surprise to see them sitting second bottom of the table after four games.
With the Hatters winning just one of their final 17 games in the Premier League last season, and starting slowly this campaign, there is no doubt that scrutiny on Edwards is increasing, but as Hinchcliffe says, there is no reason for panic just yet.
Luton have had to deal with a lengthy injury list during the early weeks of the season, while the transfer speculation around some of their stars will have been a distraction, so there are mitigating circumstances for their struggles.
With games against sides around them in Millwall, Sheffield Wednesday and Plymouth Argyle coming up over the next few weeks, the Hatters will be confident they can get their campaign up and running and start to climb the table.
