Jack Wilshere says Luton Town has consumed him in the best possible way since stepping into management, where he’s revelled in their early results and the reaction from fans while insisting the intensity of the job is something he has embraced as his side chase a fifth straight win when they host Rotherham today.
At the end of his fifth week in his first ever full time managerial role, the Luton boss admitted he is still working out the rhythms of the role but believes the only way to do it properly is to be completely “all in”.
So much so, that rather than watch England’s 2-0 win over Serbia on Thursday night, he left it on in the background. Instead, he focused on his laptop, pouring over his first game in charge, which ended with a 2-0 home defeat to Mansfield, looking for clues or moments where his side lost their confidence. Since then, of course, his early managerial reign has been on the up and up. Luton haven’t been on a winning run like this for five years.
“The way I am, the way I like it and the way I want it to be and the way I want the staff to be, is it all in,” he said. “If you’re going to do something, we’re going to do it properly. I think speaking to managers, some past, some present, about that exact question, like, what was your routine? What did it look like? I’m still trying to work it out.
“Some days longer than others. I’ve obviously got a way that I see the week, in terms of training and schedules and stuff. Normally it’s to focus on us the early part of the week and then building into the game as the week goes and probably when you build into the game the day a little bit longer. You spend more time looking at clips, sitting with the analyst.
“It has taken over my life, but in a good way.”
Wilshere acknowledges he has not yet reached a moment of crisis, but he is well aware that management rarely stays smooth for long.
“The truth is, it’s gone really well,” he said, when asked if there has been a moment when he knew Luton was the right club to join, adding: “I’m very aware that management is not always like this and you know there’ll be times where you question yourself, where you question decisions, where you question the style of play or a tactic you chose, or a player you left out. But right now, I haven’t experienced that, so difficult to answer.”
The 33-year-old also opened up on the reaction he received at Stockport last weekend, where he experienced supporters singing his name for the first time as a manager, when the Hatters faithful adapted “I’m Into Something Good”‘”, the classic Herman’s Hermits hit from the 1964, once reserved for Nathan Jones and various promotion pushes.
“Yeah, it’s the best,” Wilshere said of the chant, adding: “When I got the job, it was honestly the proudest moment in my career because when I played, I don’t like saying it, but it was easy at times because I was good at it and I knew I was good at it.
“And from a young age, of course I had to go through tough times and of course the journey wasn’t always like that, I had injuries and stuff. But I was really, really confident when I was playing because I had a lot of faith in my ability. I do as a coach now but also this is my first experience of being the first team coach, first team manager.
“Whereas I have faith in my ability and I believe a lot in what I’m doing, you never actually know until you’re that guy and you’re sat there and you’re making decisions. So, yeah, to have the fans sing my name as a coach is honestly one of the best feelings.”
The long-awaited return of the connection between players and fans was a defining feature of last weekend’s demolition of the League One leaders on their own patch, reminiscent of better days in the Premier League and the seasons before that, when Town were aiming for the top flight.
Wilshere said: “It’s outstanding to see it and it’s the players, it’s only the players, their energy, their effort, their commitment and we spoke about that at the start when I came in and understanding what do the fans want to see?
“And, of course, there’s going to be times where fans are frustrated because, I don’t know, they might feel like we are overplaying or we’re trying to do something and I was saying to the players about having courage in those moments because we know what we need to do, we understand what we’re trying to do.
“But to see Ted [Mengi] celebrate, that’s football and football’s about energy and people transmit energy between each other. There’s no better way than the fans giving the players’ energy, the players then giving it back. We need to keep building that. We understand at times it won’t always be like that but if we can try and get that as much as possible, that will help us.”
This week has been a joyful time of reflection on that connection, with social media clips aplenty of the travelling Town fans celebrating like their team had scored a goal when Josh Keeley saved Stockport’s penalty. Likewise, Teden Mengi’s late tackle a celebration in front the away end, assistant manager Chris Powell’s post-match dance and fan photos of the limbs in the stands.
Wilshere said: “It was amazing. Sometimes I was so in the game watching it and then in the corner of your eye, you look and they’re still singing and they’re still celebrating and not only the players, it gives the staff energy as well.”
Wilshere now wants to turn Kenilworth Road into a place where League One opponents find no comfort. Since that debut Mansfield defeat, he’s tasted cup victories against Brighton Under-21s in the Vertu Trophy and a nail-biting late victory in the FA Cup against Forest Green, though in front of smaller crowds. The next milestone will be for his first league victory on home soil and it will be a packed house for the visit of Rotherham.
“I spoke about that when I came in and the importance of that,” he said of restoring the feel-good factor at home, adding: “I told a story about when I came back with Norwich and I didn’t feel like that. We won the game and we weren’t great away from home, Norwich. So to win here was a little bit strange.
“Away from home over the last two league games has been great. We obviously picked up a couple of good results against Brighton and against Forest Green, which we made difficult, but we got there in the end.
“I think things like that, for the players, going through experiences like Forest Green, where we were in a game and then we were freeing it up and it feels like, OK, this is comfortable. And then for it to go as quick as it did, but then for the players to bring it back, like we have to hold on to that and try and use that.
“We understand that the fans at times are going to be frustrated. Of course they are because it wasn’t that long ago we were in the Premier League, so we have to understand that. We have to understand what the fans want to see from us, understand that at times we have to be a little bit more pragmatic, a little bit more vertical with how we play and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
“I know what the fans want to see here and we have ways of doing that as well if teams get aggressive, but building that connection with the fans at home is still something we need to do and we’ll be looking to do that.”
But Wilshere knows that the visit of Rotherham will be a stern test for his Town team, with United the division’s form team, unbeaten in nine, including six victories, with their most recent a 3-0 triumph of Lincoln City, who despatched Luton 3-1 back in September.
“The last two away games, I thought they were excellent,” he said of the Millers, adding: “I watched them, [they’re] a real competitive team, aggressive team. I know Jordan Huggil from West Ham. I know what he’s all about and I know the way he plays.
“We have to be up for it. We have to make sure we win our duels. It’s probably, again, a game where we have to we have to show our quality and that will help us win the game.
“Of course, we have to compete and win our duels and understand that the second balls in a game like [today] is vital, but then when we get the ball back, we have to be good with it and we have to keep it and we have to hurt them in certain areas, but we we know what we’re facing.”
He added: “Of course, we want to carry on winning, but it’s more about performance, it’s more about behaviours, it’s more about the process of us actually being in games and trying to compete in games and looking at the things that probably let us down a little bit earlier in the season, correcting them. Those things take time, they do. But we have to continue this way of working and hopefully the results stay the same.”
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