Jack Wilshere believes the demanding nature of Luton Town’s supporters has helped raise standards across the club this season, as he delivered a message of appreciation ahead of today’s sold-out final home game.
The Hatters on a ten-game unbeaten streak, with the Vertu Trophy secured, and a chance of reaching the play-offs with two game remaining – though it requires dropped points from teams already in the top six shake-up, Stevenage, Stockport and, potentially, Bradford.
Kenilworth Road will be full for the visit of Barnsley, with Luton still pushing for a place in the League One play-offs, and Wilshere was clear about the role fans have played in keeping the team on track through both difficult and positive periods.
“My message is just, thank you. Thank you. I love how passionate they are. I love how they demand of us, demand of me,” he said.
That sense of demand has not always been comfortable, particularly earlier in Wilshere’s tenure, when results and performances were inconsistent. The former Arsenal midfielder went into the crowd to speak with angry fans after the 1-1 draw at Leyton Orient, players spoke with furious fans after losing at Reading, and the boss exchanged angry words with one person after the 1-1 draw with then basement boys Burton Albion.
“I think back to the Burton game where I had a little altercation with a fan. But I look back and I think, fine. I want more. He wanted more. We all want more, and I love how passionate the fans are,” Wilshere said.
Rather than viewing those moments as negative, Wilshere sees them as evidence of a shared ambition between supporters, players and staff, something he believes has helped shift the mentality within the squad.
“It’s been hard at times for the players this season because they haven’t been able to deal with that adversity and that pressure,” the Hatters boss admitted. “We spoke a lot about that and worked hard on that. And ultimately, the only way that we turned that around is by winning games and giving the fans performances that they’re proud of. I think we’re there now with that.”
The last seven weeks has seen a clear upturn in both results and performances, and Wilshere was keen to highlight the consistency of support throughout that run, particularly in challenging away fixtures.
“The fans have been, especially in this run we’ve been on, outstanding, home and away. I know, especially away, how hard it is to get to Rotherham on a Tuesday night,” he said. “It means a lot to me, but also to the players. I hear the players talking about it now. We’re looking forward to [Barnsley] and trying to give the fans something to cheer about, which will then hopefully give us another game at home.”
Reflecting on those times when Wilshere has directly spoken to fans in the stands, the manager admitted that, as a first time manager, they’ve shaped his understanding of the role.
“The first time I did it, I think it was Leyton Orient away – and we were terrible that game” he said, adding: “It was a point gained again. We scored late from a set piece.
“I remember going over and one of the fans saying to me that ‘it’s not good enough’, and I just said, ‘I know, and I understand that.
“[I was] just trying to give them a little bit of context as well. Saying, ‘we’re doing all we can to try and turn it around’. And I think sometimes the fans need that as well because sometimes the fans just sit in the crowd and they don’t get any interaction or they don’t get any feedback from us.
“They probably watch this [press conference footage] and hear me talk about certain situations. At times as well, when I’ve sat here, when we haven’t been good enough, I’ve tried to protect the players and give the players all the support because, as I said, I felt like they’ve been all in and they’re trying.
“And yeah, we got some things wrong. So just to go over, give them a little bit of context at that times as well, I completely agree. My job is to try and improve the players, to try and win us games, to try and make the fans happy.
“We’ve worked really hard at that and, ultimately, you need the fans to be on board with that in the end, and we really feel like they are now.”
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