Luton Town boss Rob Edwards is looking upwards as he looks to seal promotion to the Premier League

There is a flag that adjoins the corner of the Main Stand and Oak Road End at Kenilworth Road. ‘Luton Town, established 1885… betrayed by the FA 2008,’ it reads.

It might soon need a new line. ‘Premier League 2023,’ could be added if Luton, with a dose of play-off nous and admirable belief, win promotion.

The easy narrative is to say achieving that would be against all odds. Taken amid the backdrop of the club size, their throwback of a stadium and a shoe-string budget dwarfed by nearly every team in the division, it would be.

But Rob Edwards’s team mean business and enter the play-offs as favourites with many respected pundits. In fact, since Edwards took over, Luton have amassed 50 points from 25 games, losing just three times and conceding only 17 goals.

If the Hatters had not slipped down the divisions at such a speed, their rapid return to the top level would be barely believable. They were relegated from the top flight the season before it became the Premier League and fell out of the Football League altogether in 2009.

Rob Edwards is hoping to lead his side to a potential place in the Premier League next year

The Hatters will take on Sunderland in the Championship play-off semi-final on Saturday

‘The club was on its knees in the National League not that long ago, it’s an amazing story,’ says Edwards. ‘There’s more glamorous clubs in the play-offs but this (Luton promotion) would be an amazing tale.’

Luton’s story also features a 30-point deduction for financial irregularities, and the club spent four seasons in non-League.

Ten years ago this month, they recorded their lowest finish in the club’s history: seventh in the Conference. Nothing in football can match Luton’s rollercoaster ride but Edwards’s last year runs it close. After winning League Two with Forest Green, he was given a promise down the road at Watford.

Things would be different, he was told. ‘We will back Rob come hell and high water,’ said CEO Scott Duxbury. That lasted 11 games, with Edwards sacked despite Watford being 10th in the table.

But he’s not one to look back. ‘It happened suddenly but I don’t think anyone was surprised,’ he says. ‘I reflected, I believe in myself and my team, and you hope to get back in quickly.

‘It’s hard when you’ve been sacked after 10 games. It knocks your confidence. It’s nice to prove to people who doubted me that I can do the job.’

Luton have been here before, of course, under Nathan Jones last season — but this feels different. They mean business. 

Edwards admitted his confidence was knocked after being dismissed from Watford

‘I was taking over from someone who has been a giant of this club,’ says Edwards of Jones, who has since joined and been fired by Southampton. ‘I was concerned and scared but it’s gone well.

‘I’ve spoken to lots of people over the last few weeks and I’ve leaned on a lot of people — Ian Holloway, who guided us through at Blackpool (where Edwards won a play-off final as a player), to Steve Cooper, who did it last year with Nottingham Forest.

‘I wanted to get into Steve’s head. He’s had three play-offs in a row, two with Swansea then winning with Forest. Even though he’s a fairly new manager, there’s not many more experienced at this situation.’

Edwards knows Cooper from time spent coaching England — where he also picked the brains of Gareth Southgate. He often uses late-night dog walks, with his Maltese poodle, Milo, to call people in search of advice.

It’d be incredible if a team who fell out of the football league in 2009 made it to the top-flight 

‘What I try to do is play to our strengths. A Rob Edwards team works hard, is dynamic and fights for each other with real spirit.’

Edwards’s first trip to Luton this season was on a scouting mission for Watford.

‘I came here in August, I had my shorts on — it was the hottest day of the year — and I got lost! I was walking around thinking, “I could be in trouble here, there’s a lot of Luton fans”.

‘I was right in the mix with the fans, walking around alleyways and gardens with my head down. It’s a unique stadium, an amazing place.’