Jack Wilshere believes today’s trip to Stockport will be the toughest challenge of his Luton Town reign so far, as the Hatters face the League One leaders away from home.
The Town boss said he treats every match with the same intensity but admitted the combination of County’s quality, form and league position makes this a major challenge for his side, despite coming the back of three consecutive wins for the first time since April.
But Stockport have won four on the bounce and are the division’s in form side and when asked if it was the biggest game of his short Luton career, Wilshere said: “Yeah, I think so. I try and approach every game with that mindset. I know it’s probably what every coach says, but it is that way where there’s so much that goes into preparing a game — every game feels like it’s the same.
“Of course, when you’re preparing a game, you’re analysing. Certain teams have more strengths than others and probably in that sense, yeah, I would say up to now [this is] probably the biggest test we’ve had as a team, but also the individuals we’re facing.
“And also going away to top of the league. It’s always — even if it’s just a perception thing — it always feels like it’s a little bit bigger. But we’re going there trying to play our game, trying to win the game.”
Stockport have been in superb form under Dave Challinor, boasting one of the strongest home records in the division, losing just once at Edgeley Park all season, and Wilshere has been full of respect for their balance, cohesion and the threats they pose across the pitch.
“Yeah, [they’re a] really good team,” he said. “I’ve watched a lot of them. I think they’re a really well coached team. They’ve got a clear idea of how they want to play. They’ve got some players who’ve been together for a long time and you can see that understanding in their game. They’re brave with the ball, they try to play, but they’ve also got the other side where they can go long, go direct, and they’re good on set plays.
“So it’ll be a tough game, but it’s one I’m looking forward to. I think it’s a good test for us to see where we are, because we’re starting to find a bit of consistency in our performances, and we’ll need that against Stockport because they’re a team who don’t give you anything easy.”
Among the players Wilshere is preparing to face is midfielder Oli Norwood — someone he knows from his youth international days.
“I played with Oli in England Under-16s,” Wilshere recalled. “And he was the same then. He’s the same and probably he’s got a lot better since then, obviously. Probably the biggest thing back then was physically he couldn’t cope with that, but he’s had a fantastic career.
“He’s someone that when we’re looking and preparing the game, he’s the guy that everything goes through. He’s got a fantastic passing range. He can and does dictate a game if you allow him to. So yeah, something that we need to be aware of and we need to try and control him.
“But they also have other threats. So if we try too much just to protect him, they’ll play the ball forward and they’ve got three big guys that can cause you problems. So a lot of problems, but yeah, I agree, Norwood is someone we have to deal with.”
But despite Stockport’s threats, Wilshere said his team’s progress in recent weeks has given him confidence that Luton can rise to the occasion against the league leaders.
“I think for us, it’s about what we do with the ball,” he said. “We’ve shown in the last few games that when we play our football and trust our build-up, we can cause teams problems.
“The big thing will be being brave, because Stockport press really well. They want to jump on mistakes and they’re good in transition. So we’ll need to be calm, trust the structure, and make good decisions under pressure.”
Of the nine teams above them in the league, Luton have lost to five of them and beaten only AFC Wimbledon. Only the defeat to Mansfield came under Wilshere’s reign but asked if there are things his side can learn about the experiences of playing teams above them in the table, so far, he said: I feel like there’s a really good group for that. They’re very aware of where they’re at and they understand it and they’re not happy with where they’ve been at. They’re not happy with them performances.
“But the idea is that we try and find some consistency and I think we’re on that road. I think winning definitely helps that. And if you just look at the result and without looking at anything that it’s positive. So then it’s my job is to say, ‘right, OK, we need to be better at this or we need to do more of this’.
“And one thing I’ll say is the players are really open to that. So yeah, I wasn’t here for a lot of the games you’re talking about, but it’s important that with the leadership group, we understand what they were feeling in those moments.
“But also we take our experiences from their moments and we try and use them for the rest of the season because we’re going to have to play them guys again and then we’re going to have to get better results, if we want to get to where we want to get to.
“So definitely, I always say, experience is better than explanation. I can tell you certain things, but if you go through it and you’re better for it, in my opinion.”
The fans’ view
The Lutonian journalist James Cunliffe joins Luton Town Supporters’ Trust Podcast host Kevin Harper to break down everything you need to know — from Stockport’s key threats and tactical strengths to how Luton can shock the leaders.
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