Luton Town must recognise the history behind their first visit to MK Dons but Jack Wilshere wants to ensure his side are ready for the challenge on the pitch too, as the Hatters look to build on their emphatic victory at Wycombe Wanderers.
Town travel to Stadium MK after winning 4-1 across Buckinghamshire last week, but Wilshere has warned against underestimating opponents who lost 5-1 at home to Reading. He expects MK Dons to pose a threat through their aerial strength and direct approach, while believing their experienced manager, Paul Warne, will have his players ready to respond.
The fixture carries an added significance for Luton supporters because of the history between the clubs, including the thwarted proposal to move the Hatters to Milton Keynes in the 1980s. Wilshere has discussed that history with people at the club and says senior players, including captain Kal Naismith, can help younger team-mates understand what the occasion means.
But while the past will not be forgotten, Wilshere’s immediate focus is on making sure Luton are equipped to deal with MK Dons’ strengths, win the second balls and impose their own aggressive style of play.
“I think one of their biggest strengths is their aerial threat and their direct play that we have to deal with,” he said of their next opponents who are yet to win a League One game this term.
Wilshere has studied MK Dons’ previous performances rather than basing his preparations solely on their latest defeat, and believes opposite number Warne’s experience will help the hosts respond.
“We do more than just look at the last game,” the Town boss said, adding: “Of course, the last game was really important when we’re going into a game, but we try, four or five games before that, to see if there’s any repeatable stuff that they’re doing, which there are. And in some of them games, I thought they’ve been really good. I know they’ve drawn a lot of games.”
The Hatters boss expects MK Dons to come out with a point to prove after conceding five goals at home, but says Luton have to be prepared for that response while concentrating on their own approach.
“They’ve got a coach, I’ve got massive respect for, who’s been a manager for a long, long time. I’ve seen his journey over the years with promotions and he’s also suffered relegation. So he’s got a lot of experience,” he said.
Wilshere added: “If you look back at his career, there’s probably been occasions where he has lost at home heavily and then they’re looking for a response from the team, and he is in a good position to get that out of the players, and a lot of experience with that.”
The Luton manager was asked whether Warne being under pressure following the defeat could work in the visitors’ favour, but said he was not giving that consideration.
“No, because, first of all I don’t know if he’s under pressure, but again, someone who probably throughout his career has experienced that,” he said, adding: “Is used to winning games, is used to losing games, so he’s someone who’s experienced with that.
“I don’t think the players, definitely, but also me, I don’t think about that. I don’t focus on that going into the game.”
Wilshere’s priority is to ensure Luton start on the front foot and impose themselves on the game as they did last week at Wycombe, while recognising they will need to deal with the physical threat posed by their opponents.
“They’ve got a lot of variation in how they play. They’ve got a lot of quality on the pitch. And we have to be ready for everything. We want to be a team that’s aggressive and pressing high. We still can do that against direct teams. We just have to be ready,” he said.
“We have to land on second balls, earn the right to try and do what we want to do. So yeah, it should be an interesting game.”
He added: “We’re chasing consistency and what I spoke about before then, behaviours. That’s how you get consistency. You’re not always going to get consistency with how you play. And you’re not always going to be able to make the game you want. And then you’ve got to be able to adapt. And the way to adapt is by sticking in and fighting, and we’re going to have to do that [at Milton Keynes].”
While the match carries an added significance for Luton supporters because of the history between the clubs and the towns, with the proposed relocation of the Hatters to Milton Keynes in the 1980s, Wilshere said he has spoken to people at the club to help him understand that background.
He said the players had also discussed the history and that senior members of the squad could help younger team-mates appreciate what the fixture means.
“I would be naive [not] to think that anything that I see on my phone, the players see on the phone as well. So yeah, they’ll have an understanding of it. We’ll we’ve spoken about it a little bit. We’ll speak about it again,” Wilshere said.
“We’ve also got a good group where, Kal [Naismith] is someone who really understands the history of this club and speaks to a lot of fans, almost like that ambassador role for the squad and can feed in the information that he feels relevant. He’s also really good at that.
“We’ve got some young players that wouldn’t know [the history]. They just want to play a game, play football and sometimes I think that is quite a nice thing to have. As long as they have an understanding from the senior players that this is an important game. I have no doubt that we’ll get that balance right.”
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