Jack Wilshere says he’s felt “the buzz” from fans since he was unveiled as new Luton Town manager this week and now he wants to channel the surge of excitement around the club when he takes charge of his first match at Kenilworth Road tomorrow.
The former Arsenal and England midfielder faces Mansfield Town in League One for what will be his permanent managerial debut, and he believes an improved feel-good factor among supporters can make a real difference.
Wilshere, who returned to the club where he began his youth career before moving to Arsenal aged nine, said he has sensed a genuine lift in mood since his appointment and wants his players to feed off that energy from the start, as they aim to shake-off four defeats in their last six.
“The buzz around the town, I think we have to use that, definitely tomorrow,” the 33-year-old said. “My message from the start for the fans was getting behind us from the start. I’ve really felt that this week on social media and I think the players are as well. So yeah, from the start tomorrow, we need to capture that and keep it going forward.”
After consecutive relegations from the Premier League to League One, where they currently sit in 11th place, Wilshere said his focus is on restoring belief and reconnecting with supporters.
“Naturally, I’ve spoke to the players about the journey to the Premier League and winning games, winning more than losing probably, and then of course when you go up to the Premier League it is a little bit tougher,” he said.
“Naturally, you lose more games and that seems to have stuck through last season as well. So I think when there is that feeling, it is tough. The fans are annoyed and they want to win games. Of course they do. So yeah, we have to use it 100 per cent. I said that at the start, what is Luton about? And Luton is about having energy, being hardworking, winning duels, getting the fans on side.”
Wilshere admitted it has been a surreal week, from his unveiling on Monday to the eve of preparing to lead out Luton for the first time — and says he has relished every moment.
“It’s going to be amazing. There’s been so many moments like that this week,” he said. “My office upstairs [at The Brache] looks out onto the first pitch I was at when I first joined the academy here. I said to my wife last night, in bed, ‘this is amazing’. I love every single moment of it. And the love that the fans have given me on social media, I know they want to win games and so do I, and that’s what we’re going to try and do starting tomorrow.”
Despite having played in Champions League and international fixtures, Wilshere said the thought of his managerial debut feels just as special — and more hard-earned.
“This is something different, this is something that I’ve really, really had to work for,” he said. “There’s been some tough times along the journey, but this is the proudest moment in my career. My family is so proud. I want to repay the faith that Gary [Sweet] and the club have shown, but also the love that the fans have shown.”
Wilshere added that the players’ attitude in training has lifted him further ahead of the weekend, saying: “That’s the exciting bit and that was my message to the group today,. I’ve got to pick a team and it’s hard for me to pick a team right now because everyone’s been really good, the energy’s been high.”
A week of training videos and photos produced by the club gave glimpses of players that have not featured this season, having been out injured.
Isaiah Jones, Hakeem Odoffin and Jacob Brown were some of the long-term absentees pictured training.
Wilshere said: “Some of them are close some of them have been training, but then you’ll [need] a little bit of time to just train and feel what it’s like
“I’m probably someone who’s got a lot of experience of coming back from injury and I know that it can take some time and it can take a couple of weeks, [they] probably need a few games to get going.
“We’re going to need everyone and we need to look at that over the next couple of weeks to see where we can get certain players games.”
For now the task is to topple Mansfield and Wilshere is expecting to face a defensive side, though he admitted: “I think that we have to use that as a sign of respect because it’s not just Mansfield. There’s a lot of teams this season have come here and done that and I’ve seen Mansfield do that.
“I’ve seen them be aggressive and press really high as well. So we have to be ready for both.
“There are moments where we are attacking and if it is going to be in a game like that, we need to be really switched on and that we keep our distances closed and if we lose the ball, we’re there to try and win it back.
“But yeah, we expect a tough game. In this league, which I’ve learned over the last couple of weeks of watching it, talking to players, talking to coaches around the league, there’s so many random moments that we have to be ready for everything. but first of all, ready to to compete.”
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