Hatters boss reveals he dropped midfielder after being unhappy with his efforts
Wilshere explains why Fanne wasn’t involved against Lincoln on Saturday
Hatters boss Jack Wilshere has revealed he dropped midfielder Lamine Fanne from the first team squad against Lincoln City last weekend after being unhappy with his efforts during the Vertu Trophy last 16 clash against Swindon Town previously.
The 21-year-old had been a regular for Wilshere since he took over at Kenilworth Road in October, named in every single League One squad and starting 11 out of 14 of those matches, scoring once and adding two assists, also on target in the FA Cup win over Forest Green Rovers too. However, having been taken off at half time against Stevenage and playing 71 minutes of the 2-1 defeat to the Robins, Fanne was then not in the starting XI when the Imps were in town on Saturday, his name failing to even appear on the substitutes bench either.
Asked just why that was, Wilshere said this afternoon: “I’ve said this to him, I wasn’t happy with him from the Swindon game and I didn't think he did enough to earn the right to be in the squad again. However this week he’s been outstanding, he’s taken that feedback on board, he’s trained right, his attitude has been spot on and I’ve got a decision to make now about the squad, if he’s in. And if he’s not, he’s definitely closer than he was last week, I just wasn’t happy with him from the Swindon game, that’s all.
“I think you can see how much I’ve enjoyed working with Lamine, especially when I first came in. He was the guy that was arriving in the box, scoring important goals, I want him to get back to that. I want him to get back to understanding what his strengths are, how he can help the team. He obviously got taken off at half time against Stevenage because he wasn’t giving us that in that game, but he’s someone that gives us something and we want him around.”
Fanne now faces an even bigger battle to get back into the team when Luton go to Plymouth Argyle tomorrow, and head to Huddersfield Town on Tuesday night, as the trio of Liam Walsh, Jordan Clark and Gideon Kodua gave a fine performance against the Imps, Kodua making it 10 for the campaign, with Walsh absolutely starring both in and out of possession.
The Hatters also have new signing Kasey Palmer to throw into the mix now too, after he penned a loan deal from Hull City until the end of the season. with the experienced George Saville an option as well. Having to make his mind up over just who he goes with at Home Park, Wilshere added: “You just have to manage it and you just have to rest players in certain moments, try and pick the best trio you see for the right game.
"It’s frustrating as you don’t want to interrupt it too much, you want to keep that rhythm. I think back to the Reading game when Jordan Clark could only play 60 minutes and we just scored the second goal. I wanted to keep him on the pitch, I wanted him to stay, but we couldn’t, we had to change him, so that’s frustrating at times.
“You have to understand the individual as well as I think back to last weekend with Kal (Naismith). Kal was only meant to play 60 minutes, but the position is different, the demands are different and the history of the player is a little bit different too, so those occasions will always happen with the medical team and ultimately I have to make that decision and that is tough.”