Jack Wilshere has played down the post-match confrontation with his Barnsley counterpart Daniel Stendel after the Hatters won 2-1 at Kenilworth Road last night, describing the incident as a reflection of both teams’ desire to win.
Tempers flared after the final whistle when Wilshere shook hands with his opposite number. TV replays showed the Hatters boss take exception with something the Tykes manager said and shoved him, before Hatters first-team coach David Bridges ushered him away. By then players and staff from both camps had become involved in a melee.
Wilshere insisted there was no lack of respect between the managers, praising Barnsley’s quality despite their recent struggles and suggesting the flashpoint demonstrated the competitive spirit within both teams.
“Nothing but respect for them. At the end, we shook hands and it’s just passion. I want to win. He wants to win and that’s that,” he said.
“He just grabbed my hand. I think he wants to win. I want to win. I’ve got a lot of respect for him and his team.
“I watched them over the last few days, probably four or five games I’ve watched them and they haven’t got the results that they wanted, but they’re a good team and you can see that they’ve got threat.
“I thought [Patrick] Kelly was outstanding in midfield. [Reyes] Cleary’s obviously continued from last season. So, they’re a threat and they’re also going through a transition period where they’re changing the style of play.
“They’re a high pressing team, they want to hit you on transition. I thought we managed that really well.”
Asked about the involvement of players and staff from both sides, Wilshere said the desire to win had also brought out a sense of togetherness among his own squad.
“We have to be respectful and we are and they [Barnsley] were as well, in my opinion, but also sometimes you can see their togetherness in those moments where we wanted to win so badly and we’ve got each other’s back.”
Wilshere gathered his players in a huddle on the pitch after the confrontation had subsided, using the moment to refocus attention on the challenge ahead rather than dwell on the events at the final whistle.
The Hatters now turn their attention to Saturday’s home match against Leicester City, before another home fixture on Tuesday against Doncaster Rovers, with Wilshere stressing what must be the priority after his side got back to winning ways after defeat in Milton Keynes on Saturday.
Explaining his message to the players, he said: “We’ve been here before where we bounce back and now it’s down to us to find the consistency. We need to recover. We’re off tomorrow and then we’ll go again Thursday where we’ll review things.
“Extra recovery for some players, knowing that [we play] on Saturday, [against] a good team coming here in Leicester.
“Again, a team that probably haven’t got the results that they wanted, but they play some really good football. So that’ll be a challenge for us and we have to focus on that right from now.”
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