He’s won two FA Cups and played for England at Wembley Stadium numerous times as a player, but for Jack Wilshere, leading Luton Town out for Sunday’s Vertu Trophy final as the manager will, he insists, represent the proudest moment of his football career.
The Hatters head into the showpiece against Stockport County in strong form – four wins in five – and with momentum building at just the right time, but for the Hatters boss the occasion also marks a remarkable rise in his short managerial journey.
He took over at Kenilworth Road from Matt Bloomfield in October to take charge of his first managerial role, having been coach of Arsenal under-18s and a caretaker boss of Norwich at the tail end of last term.
Luton is where his football career began as a youth before Arsenal snapped him up and turned him into a first-teamer by the age of 16. He’s still on 34, and he moved into coaching after his playing days were cut short by persistent injuries.
“I like to pride myself on being really humble, but actually playing was something that came easy to me,” he said, ading: “Of course there were sacrifices and things I had to do to get to the level I wanted to, and it wasn’t easy. But a lot of the stuff did come naturally to me.
“I’ve been coaching three-and-half years, and if you’d have said to me on day one of walking in with the [Arsenal] under-18s and standing in front of the staff and the players that in three-and-half years you’ll be leading Luton Town out at Wembley, I wouldn’t have believed you,” he said.
“There’s been loads and loads of sacrifice, loads of learning, loads of development. I’ve failed, I’ve then had to go again.
“I’ve been lucky that I’ve been surrounded by god people on that journey, and inspired by good people. But yeah, [I’ll be] really, really proud. Probably the proudest moment of my footballing career, because of how quickly it has happened, but also the people that we’re doing it with.”
Wilshere insisted, however, that his focus remains firmly on the task ahead rather than the occasion itself, or dreams of lifting his first piece of silverware as a manager.
“It’s hard for me to think about that and talk about that now because my message to the players is don’t think about the outcome, think about the process,” he said.
Drawing on his own experiences of playing in major finals, the Hatters boss believes mentality will be key at Wembley.
“If you go into the final and you’re outcome-driven, you know what the outcome is if you win, you know what the outcome is if you lose, but if you just focus on that rather than what actually we’re going to try and do to win the game, then it becomes difficult,” he said.
But Wilshere added that maintaining consistency in approach has been central to Luton’s recent improvement.
“We’ve had many ups and downs this season, but we’ve stuck to the same way of working and demanding more from the players,” he said.
Some of Luton’s squad have played at Wembley before, like Jordan Clark who scored in the 2023 Championship play-off final, when Town won promotion to the Premier League. Then there are players like captain Kal Naismith and Liam Smith, who have never played at the national stadium.
So there will be a mix of nerves among the Hatters squad, but Wilshere believes his players can use those emtions to their advantage as they prepare for Sunday’s final.
“Some players will feel a little bit nervous, which in my opinion is not a bad thing,” he said.
“I was at times one of them players, especially when I was a younger player, that would experience nerves.
“I always thought that it was a way that helps you focus even more because it makes you try and focus more on the process and the things you can control.”
Wilshere added that managing those emotions collectively will be key.
“We’ll have a blend of players that are embracing it and players that are a little bit nervous,” he said. “Our job is to stick together and find a game plan that works for everyone.”
And while the Hatters will arrive at the final in improved form, the manager believes the struggles earlier in the campaign have played a crucial role.
“They’ve suffered at times, which I think is a big part of growing and developing as a team,” Wilshere said.
“The foundation of anything we’ve done has always been built on hard work. Whenever we outwork the opposition, whenever our numbers are higher, that’s when we dominate games.
“The players can see now that there is a little bit of success. But they also know what it takes to sustain that.”
1 Trackback / Pingback