“Life’s too short to worry about risks and challenges… I want us to dream and enjoy the ride.”
Those were the words of Rob Edwards as he prepared to start his first season as a head coach in the Championship with Watford.
Nine months later and the ride continues for Edwards – but it is now Watford’s rivals Luton Town doing the dreaming as he steers them towards a second successive appearance in the play-offs, and the possibility of promotion to the Premier League.
Having lasted just 11 games at Vicarage Road, the 40-year-old will take on his old club for the first time on Saturday with Luton fourth in the table, six places and nine points better off than their rivals down the M1.
It is a turn of events Edwards surely could not have expected after accepting the Watford job, having guided Forest Green to promotion from League Two. last season.
But maybe he should have, given the regular churn of coaches at Watford – they are now on their third boss of the campaign, Chris Wilder, after also losing faith in Edwards’ successor Slaven Bilic.
Asked to assess his time at Watford, Edwards answers in four words: “That happened – it’s gone.”
Tough day at Vicarage Road
The timeline is quite straightforward – he was sacked by Watford on 26 September and while out of work, Bilic’s Watford beat Luton 4-0 at Vicarage Road on 23 October.
Then, on 11 November, Hatters boss Nathan Jones left to take over at Southampton and six days later Edwards was appointed as his replacement by a club based just 18 miles north of his former employers.
Despite his relatively short spell with the Hornets, he believes the experience enhanced his development as a coach.
“The few months I had there, I learned a lot, working with different people, working with more foreign players, to try and get communication is really important, dealing with a big staff,” Edwards told BBC Look East.
“But I am learning all the time in this role now and if you are open to learning and accept you don’t know it all – I certainly don’t know it all – then you are going to improve and get better.
“I’ve got a long way to go and I think it’s important to recognise the brilliant staff around me, because you don’t do this job on your own.
“I know ultimately I’ll be the one getting critiqued, whether it goes well or doesn’t go well, but they’ve been a real rock. Coming to a new place, I can’t speak highly enough of the staff.”
‘It’s not about me’
With leaders Burnley seemingly over the hill and far away, Luton have a six-point deficit to close on Sheffield United in second place.
And although it could be argued that it is Watford who are more in need of a victory on Saturday, Edwards insists the focus – whatever the outcome – should be on the match and the players involved.
“Going into every game there’s an unknown, you don’t know how it’s going to go, but it’s not about Rob Edwards at all, it’s about Luton and Watford and that’s the strong message I’ve got to send out,” he said.
“It’s the first time it’s happened for me, to go up against another team I’ve managed… but all I’m thinking about is preparing the team in the same way we do for any other game.
“I’m sure it will feel slightly different because of what happened earlier in the season, but we want to make sure we continue our good form.”
He continued: “I think the [Luton] players will rise to it. The big occasions, the big games, they’ve stepped up and done really well. We know how important it is to our supporters, we know there’ll be a good atmosphere here, we’ve just got to make sure we give our fans something to sing about.”
Edwards has only been a manager in the EFL since taking over at Forest Green in May 2021. Contrast that with Watford’s Wilder, a veteran campaigner closing in on 1,000 matches in charge of various clubs.
So how does he deal with the pressures of the job?
“I’m not on any social media so I can stick my head in the sand when the games are done and whether it’s good or whether it’s bad, just not look,” Edwards said.
“I try and stay quite level – I think that’s the secret. Win, lose or draw, don’t get too down, don’t get too high if it’s gone well, because football has a habit of kicking you in the backside if you get too ahead of yourself.
“Stay consistent, stay grounded, stay humble and just work hard. You’ve got to try and focus on the job and not worry about whatever else is going on out there. It’s out of my control.”
Watford will be wary of Luton’s mobile strikers Carlton Morris and Elijah Adebayo, who have 25 goals between them this season, while the Hatters will keep a close eye on Brazilian Joao Pedro, rated by many as one of the top players in the second tier.
Whatever the outcome, Edwards says: “You can’t help but take it home with you, it’s hard to fully switch off. I think people will be lying if they [say they] can.
“It can be difficult because so many people care and feel passionate about football and sport, especially in this country, but it’s something you have to be able to deal with or you don’t last that long.”
Edwards has already lasted 10 games more than at Watford – and if things go well on Saturday and for the rest of the season, Luton fans will be hoping he will be in charge of many more.
Rob Edwards was talking to BBC Look East’s James Burridge
