Jack Wilshere admitted some of his Luton Town players were “quite emotional” after 4,000 travelling supporters stayed behind after their Carabao Cup defeat at Chelsea to cheer and chant like they’d won.
The Hatters bowed out of the competition with a 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge last night but left the World Club Champions with plenty of credit after a committed display against Xavi Alonso’s side, with the Spaniard choosing a strong team on his first home game in charge of the Blues.
And despite the result, the overwhelming feeling among the travelling Luton support was one of pride, with large numbers of the 4,000-strong away following remaining behind after the final whistle to applaud the players and their manager.
The players stood in front of the away end for longer than usual to take in the reception, with Wilshere revealing just how much the moment meant to his squad.
“Outstanding. Absolutely,” he said when asked about the support, adding: “I stood there at the end looking in the players’ eyes and some of them looked quite emotional.
“I think you know we’ve gone on a long journey. I’ve been here nine, ten months nearly. And that’s been a long journey within ourselves — finding a way, finding an identity, but also connecting again with the fans.
“And yeah, we need that. The players need that. So, yeah, [I’m] really grateful for their support and I’m sure it will continue.”
The scenes were another indication of how dramatically the relationship between the team and supporters has changed during Wilshere’s first year in charge.
Luton endured a difficult period last season as they adjusted to life in League One following back-to-back relegations, but a remarkable finish to the campaign and start to the current season, prior to last night, had seen them go 15 games unbeaten in all competitions, including winning the Vertu Trophy at Wembley.
That connection has continued into the new campaign, with and Wilshere acknowledged that rebuilding the bond had been a significant part of his work since taking charge.
“We speak about that a lot. We’ve been on a long journey with the fans. It wasn’t always easy and we understood why. The club, over the last couple of years, we’ve been through a tough time. The fans were frustrated.
“The fans stuck with us. We’ve worked really hard on that. Credit to the players as well, because they’re the guys that have to go out there and perform and feel the environment at times last year.
“That was a big part of us growing as a team, overcoming that, keeping confidence in tough moments and showing belief.
“We’re proud of that connection we have with the fans. We just need to keep growing that and building on it.”
And Wilshere believes the Chelsea performance demonstrated exactly the type of team Luton supporters want to see, even in defeat.
“I understand what the fans want to see — a team that compete, that are aggressive and that give everything for the badge, and these players certainly do that,” he said.
The performance was even more impressive considering how strong Wilshere’s opposite number Alonso went with his team selection, which had talisman Cole Palmer and £117m summer signing Morgan Rogers in the forward line.
“I thought the lads were excellent with that as well,” the Town boss said, adding: “Killing spaces, denying them, being aggressive when we could and inside passes.
“I think the first goal is a really good goal. I haven’t seen it back, but I think the ball in the box is really good. The movement is really good. And sometimes at this level, OK, that can happen.
“But, I think overall the back five — like we were tonight — I thought they can be proud of their performance and they can take confidence from it as well. They’re playing against top players: Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers, Danny Welbeck who’s experienced and knows the game. So they should be proud of that.”
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