Luton Town: International break can be best or worst thing for Rob Edwards right now | OneFootball

Rob Edwards is a man under pressure at Luton Town, but the international break could've come at a perfect time for him.

After guiding Luton Town to the Premier League for the first time in their history, it seems unthinkable to think that Rob Edwards finds his job under intense pressure 18 months on.

But that's the grim reality facing Edwards heading into November's international break, as his Luton side are only outside the bottom three by virtue of having scored a few more goals than Cardiff City.

Many expected that Luton would find the going a little tougher this season after losing a few of their key players from last season's unsuccessful battle to beat the drop in the top-flight, but it would be amiss to suggest anyone expected they'd be faring so poorly right now.

A thumping 5-1 defeat at Middlesbrough on Saturday prompted an angry reaction from the travelling Luton fans, who made their voices heard at full-time when Edwards and his players came over to thank the travelling support.

Even those who didn't attend made their thoughts abundantly clear on social media at full-time, with a growing proportion of Luton fans calling for Edwards to be dismissed with the international break now upon us.

The international break gives Edwards a chance to work on Luton's deficiencies

There certainly are plenty of shortcomings in Luton's game this season, and addressing those will more than likely need more than just a two-week international break.

That said, it should at least give his side the opportunity to make some marked improvements on the Boro game in a bid to move clear of the relegation zone.

It's evident that conceding goals has been Luton's kryptonite this season, with their average of 1.7 per game the league's joint-second worst average.

That's a far cry from their steely approach last season which earned them so many plaudits in the Premier League, but losing Gabriel Osho and Tom Lockyer from the heart of their defence seems to have been their undoing.

Losing Ross Barkley and Albert Sambi-Lokonga from the heart of their midfield means they can't quite control games as well now, while Chiedozie Ogbene's departure saw them lose some flair and industry out wide.

It's not all doom and gloom though, as Edwards still has some top players at his disposal, but he needs to find a way to get a tune out of them.

That's why the international break could be beneficial for him, giving him chance to hatch a plan on the training field.

Edwards must be fearing being dismissed in the break

It's widely acknowledged that international breaks are among the best times to sack managers due to the additional time for a new boss to prepare his players, and with Luton massively underachieving, Edwards must be fearful the axe could fall on him.

Edwards gave a heartfelt interview to the Luton media team after the Boro defeat, and after stating he "wants what's best for the football club", it almost felt like an admission that his time was up, something like a resignation.

With Coventry, who are in a better position than Luton, sacking Mark Robins last week, clubs are willing to pull the trigger if they deem fit, but it seems that Luton are willing to put faith in Edwards in the hope he'll turn things around.

In fact, the sacking of Robins probably leaves Edwards' job even less secure as he's widely regarded as the manager a lot of Championship teams will be comparing to their own right now, wondering if they're better to stick or twist.

All the evidence points to the fact Luton will elect to stick, but this international break feels like make or break for Edwards, who simply has to turn Luton's fortunes around if he's to stay in a job.