Manager Rob Edwards wants his Luton Town team to use their trip to Villa Park as a learning experience as they seek to pick up the points to stay in the Premier League.
Unai Emery’s Aston Villa went fifth in the table with a 3-1 win over the Hatters, with Edwards admitting on his return to his boyhood club: “It was always going to be a difficult day for us today, and it proved to be the case.
“Villa are in a really good moment, a very good team with a very good manager. It was a difficult game.”
The manager went on: “It’s down to us to learn and get better, and we will do. If we can take anything from this game now it’s that we kept going, and stayed in it for as long as possible and we didn’t go under, and there are things there that can make us better.
“We are going to come up against other teams like this, maybe even better, and we’ve got to make sure that we improve on key areas.
“That’s what we are trying to do, we are on a journey here to try and improve and get better, and Aston Villa had to go through it a few years ago when they first got promoted and had to go through difficult times.
“They’ve found a way to this position right now. Today was not a game that surprised us in any way. They are on a really high level at the moment and it was a difficult afternoon for us, but I have to stress that the players kept going, they stayed committed to what we are trying to do.
“Yes, there are mistakes that happen. There are always mistakes, we are only human, but we’ll improve and we’ll learn from it.”
Emi Martinez’s own goal gave the 3,000 travelling Hatters even more to cheer about than they already had, and once again they gave Edwards and his side a wonderful reception at the final whistle.
“It was a strange goal to cheer about,” said Edwards. “I love our fans and the support they give us all the time. They were brilliant today, again. There were some comical chants going on again during the game, which I can appreciate and at least it kept them entertained and kept their spirits high, and I get it.
“But the lads kept going, they didn’t go under and it become four, five or six. We got one back and they probably took a little bit of pride from that, and that is really important to me that we keep doing what we do, which is working hard and staying committed to trying to get the next goal in whatever game it is, and we did that today.
“So yes, frustrating and disappointing, but let’s be realistic. We are not quite at their level at the moment and it showed today, so we’ve got to learn and get better, and that’s what we are committed to doing.”
On Gabe Osho’s return from injury for his first appearance of the season, and a Premier League debut in which he lasted 57 minutes, Edwards added: “I love Gabe to bits and it was a tough ask for him to come into this sort of game, for his first bit of Premier League football.
“I thought he did very well and was just starting to tighten up. It’s important that we don’t lose him now, so I see him coming back as a real positive for us today.”