'I feel numb' - Luton manager stunned after Everton rivals suffer spectacular meltdown

Luton Town are set for a test that could define their chances of Premier League survival after suffering a morale-busting defeat at Bournemouth.

The Hatters looked set to close the gap to Everton at half-time at the Vitality Stadium, former Blue Ross Barkley finishing just before the break to send his side 3-0 up.

Had they held on, Luton would have moved level on points with Nottingham Forest - leaving Everton just one point clear of the bottom three.

Instead, Luton collapsed to a second half comeback and lost 4-3, meaning they failed to take a major opportunity to heap pressure on Everton and Forest.

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The defeat, and the manner of it, was a cause of frustration for Luton boss Rob Edwards. After the match he challenged his players to respond in their home game against Forest on Saturday but set the tone for a make-or-break game that will test his team’s ability to take their survival fight into the closing weeks of the campaign.

Edwards said: “We put ourselves in such a good position to win a Premier League game, so sitting here talking about a defeat is tough. I’m angry and upset. I feel numb. We’ve lost our fair share this season but the manner of tonight does hurt. We’ve got a huge game on Saturday. If we can’t pick ourselves up for a game like this then there’s something wrong but we won’t allow the lads to dwell on it. We’ve lost a game but we’ve performed really well in the first half and we have to learn from it.”

Forest split Everton and Luton in the table. With Everton not playing this weekend due to Liverpool’s FA Cup commitments leading