Leeds United's Championship rivals make manager decision after 'really challenging' comments
Almost half of Leeds United’s Championship opponents have now parted ways with their original head coach.
Another of Leeds United’s Championship rivals look set to change manager with reports Rob Edwards will leave Luton Town.
The Hatters have endured a miserable return to the Championship, having only been relegated from the Premier League alongside Burnley and Sheffield United last season. They were widely expected to challenge Leeds for a top-two spot but four straight defeats has left them 20th, just two points above the bottom three.
Monday’s 2-1 defeat at Queens Park Rangers was Luton’s 10th in a row away from home, a run that included November’s 3-0 loss at Elland Road, a game Daniel Farke’s Whites dominated from start to finish. And talkSPORT journalist Alex Crook now reports that Kenilworth Road chiefs and Edwards have made the ‘mutual decision’ to part ways.
Edwards’ final Luton words
Luton have been a long way from their best this season but few can argue they haven’t been unfortunate in spells. Monday’s defeat at QPR just about summed up how things have been going recently, with Michael Frey appearing to handle the ball in the build-up to his goal before Ilias Chair’s effort deflected cruelly off Morgan Fox for the winner.
“Look, I'm realistic. I know the results aren’t good enough,” Edwards said after the defeat. “The lads have given everything. The performance in big spells is there, but we’ve fallen on the wrong side of the line. Yeah. I don’t know what else to say. It’s really, really tough. It’s not good enough obviously, ten defeats away from home. Wow. Recently, there’s nothing in the games and we’re falling on the wrong side of it.”
The Luton boss was then asked about his position, adding: “I want to work and we believe in this group. [Leaving] is not something I want to do. I love this club. We’ve had great times here. This is a really difficult period. And it’s really challenging. Continuing to get hit and we’re on the ropes and getting hit after hit after hit. But no one’s giving up and you can see that the fight is there. And, and that’s what we’ll continue to do.”
Another Championship managerial change
Confirmation is expected to follow from the Championship strugglers, along with interim cover and their plans to find a new head coach. Luton are due at Premier League high-flyers Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup this weekend, with a home game against Preston North End up next in the league.
Luton are now the 10th Championship team to lose the manager with whom they started the season. Portsmouth are the only bottom-six club yet to make that sort of decision, while further up the table Oxford United, Coventry City, Preston, Millwall and West Brom have either been looking for a new boss or still are.
Leeds are one of 14 second-tier teams with their original manager in post, but there has even been murmurs of discontent among supporters at times. Nevertheless, Farke guided his side through an unbeaten eight-game festive period which has kept them top of the Championship, with a point separating them from both Burnley and Sheffield United.