Jack Wilshere praised new signing George Johnston but said his Hatters side need to be “better on the ball” as they lost 1-0 to Dutch top flight side Go Ahead Eagles in their final preparation game for the new season.
Stefan Sigurdarson scored midway through a first half where the visitors dominated possession, but didn’t create a chance until that 22nd minute opener.
Liam Walsh impressed in his now familiar role trying to pull the strings for Town and he was one of the players who forced saves in the much-improved second half, along with Jordan Clark, Kasey Palmer and Jake Richards, but they could not find a leveller.
“There are clear things that we need to improve, but I think defensively, without really putting the pressure on we wanted, we contained them.
“I felt like distances were good. I thought our backline did really well at organising that. It’s hard to manage that when they have time on the ball, and they’re rotating, and they’re running, they’re looking to threaten behind.
“Overall, I think they had two chances, which we’re happy with that, we’re proud of the players for that. However, we need to be better with the ball.”
New centre back signing Johnston was one of those players that impressed on his Kenilworth Road debut for Town, winning the man of the match award.
Wilshere said: “You can see he’s got a mentality, like a love for defending, which I really like. We can work with him. He’s good with the ball, but all these things you can add to his game, but he has that mentality to really want to defend, and that’s infectious as well through the back line.
“I’m really happy with how he’s been since he’s coming from pre-season. He settled in really well. He understands what we want from him defensively and yeah, he’s kind of leading that line, so happy with how he’s going.”
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