Luton complete fairytale rise from dark days of fifth tier to Premier League

(Reuters) - Luton Town's promotion bid hit a speed bump when Southampton prised away their beloved manager Nathan Jones earlier this season, but they have now returned the favour by taking the south-coast club's place in the Premier League.

Jones had led Luton to automatic promotion from League Two and even a Championship playoff semi-final in two spells but left in November when they were ninth, leaving Luton in a predicament.

Enter Rob Edwards, the latest victim of Watford's managerial revolving door policy, and Luton had no qualms in handing the man who coached their rivals a three-and-a-half-year contract.

"Let's be honest ... if we avoided everyone with a connection to our adversaries our choice would be somewhat more limited," club CEO Gary Sweet said at the time.

The rest is history as Luton finished third in the Championship and qualified for the playoffs on the back of a 14-match unbeaten run.

They saw off Sunderland in the semi-finals after losing the first leg before beating Coventry City on penalties in a nerve-shredding final at Wembley to return to the top flight after 31 years.