Wilshere confirms improving Nordas is in his thoughts to start against Royals

Luton boss Jack Wilshere has confirmed that improving striker Lasse Nordas is firmly in his thoughts to start tonight’s League One clash at Reading.

The 23-year-old had been sidelined for most of Wilshere’s opening few months in charge at Kenilworth Road, as after coming on in the new manager’s opening 2-0 defeat to Mansfield and being on the bench against Northampton Town in the following fixture, he then missed out on being selected for the next five league squads.

Bar one fleeting appearance in the Vertu Trophy against Brighton & Hove Albion U21s, it looked like Nordas wasn’t going to be in the ex-Arsenal midfielder’s plans going forward, before the former Norwegian U21 international was back in the fold when earning a start against Exeter City in the same competition.

He scored a first half double to inspire a 4-0 victory, then beginning the 2-2 draw with Fleetwood Town in the FA Cup second round, Luton losing on penalties, as although he didn’t perform as well as against the Grecians, he was at least in the right position when two good chances were created, seeing one of them well saved by the Cod Army keeper.

Since then, Nordas has worked his way back into the league squad as well, coming off the bench late on against Leyton Orient and Port Vale in the Hatters’ last two matches, as the 6ft 3 attacker was part of a busy penalty area that saw a stoppage time corner headed in by Gideon Kodua to earn a point, while he was almost the hero at the weekend, one lovely turn to find a team-mate starting a good move, also letting fly with a goalbound acrobatic volley that was deflected behind.

Stats-wise, giving Nordas his opportunity stacks up too, as although he has only made 11 third tier appearances, with one goal and two assists, he has the most shots on target per 90 minutes within the Town squad at 1.3 per game, while with 2.9, he also has the most shots in a match, plus he has also won possession the most times in the final third at 1.1 times a fixture, meaning when is on the pitch things definitely happen.

With Jacob Brown failing to impress when moved centrally at the weekend, while Jerry Yates and Nahki Wells have scored a meagre three goals between them in the league, then of the options available to him, Wilshere confirmed he is considering Nordas to start this evening, after declaring he has been upgrading his efforts on the pitch in recent outings.

He said: “I think the Exeter game and the Fleetwood game that he played, okay he was better in the Exeter game, but the Fleetwood game, he gave us something as well. When you play with certain players, like if we play with really wide players, Shayden Morris, who can get down the line and stand a ball up then he can really help the team.

“Sometimes against Bolton when we’re chasing the game and Shayden came on, Lasse wasn’t on the pitch, but you think if Lasse was on then maybe he can head a few in. He’s also improving with his link-up play. You saw when he came on against Port Vale, he was dropping deep and then running back in the box. We spoke about him being more aggressive, I think he is, so he’s definitely someone who’s improving and is in our thoughts.”

With Nordas beginning to better his hold-up play as well as his aggression, then it’s quite clear that personal improvement is a big part of Wilshere’s managerial voyage, adding: “I’m really passionate about that. I understand that we have to win games as well as developing players, but I think the best way to win games is by making players better and giving them a better understanding of how to win a certain game, but also working with them in the week on their weaknesses.

"We’ve got an IDP (individual development plan) programme that Kevin Foley runs and it’s top. We identify what we think the players need to work on and then we work on it. We train, we do an extra session, whether it’s eleven v eleven where we’re asking them to do specific things, so I am happy with how certain players are developing and we have to focus on that all the time, as well as sometimes just trying to find a way to win a game.”