Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday's Championship rivals make manager exit decision

Another of Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday’s Championship rivals look set to part ways with their manager amid reports Rob Edwards will leave Luton Town.

The Hatters are currently down in 20th place with just two points separating them from the relegation zone, following a run of four straight defeats over the Christmas and New Year period. They only came down from the Premier League over summer but while the pair who joined them, United and Burnley, are fighting for promotion they are battling to survive.

The last of those four straight defeats came at Queens Park Rangers on Monday, with a 2-1 loss their 10th in a row away from home. And it appears Luton have now decided to part ways with their manager, with talkSPORT journalist Alex Crook reporting the 42-year-old will leave Kenilworth Road by mutual consent.

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 2-1 defeat at QPR just about summed up how things have been going recently, with Michael Frey appearing to handle the ball in the moments before his goal before the Hatters conceded a cruel second.

Ilias Chair’s effort deflected wildly off defender Morgan Fox, who knew next to nothing about his eventual winner. After the defeat, Edwards suggested the footballing gods are against his side but took responsibility for a dismal run.

“Look, I'm realistic. I know the results aren’t good enough,” he said. “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.”

Edwards on Luton future

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.”

Confirmation is expected to follow from the Championship strugglers shortly, 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.