Hatters duo are still confident Luton can go a run to extend their season

​Luton boss Jack Wilshere refused to rule out his side’s hopes of making the play-offs, despite a crushing 3-2 defeat at home to Reading on Saturday, and 1-1 draw at Doncaster Rovers in midweek, that appears to have ended any realistic chances of doing so.

Going into the contest at the weekend, the Hatters trailed their opponents by four points, as it looked like that gap would be down to just one when the hosts were 2-1 in front with 10 minutes remaining. However, two awful defensive mistakes by Luton, firstly when Joe Johnson gave the ball away as the visitors made it 2-2, and then moments later, Kal Naismith lost possession inside the area for Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan to complete his hat-trick, sealed victory for the Royals.

It meant the Berkshire side moved seven points clear of the Hatters, Huddersfield Town in sixth, eight points away, as Town then headed to South Yorkshire on Tuesday night with the opportunity to cut that gap, with the Terriers not in action. Although Wilshere saw his side move in front once more thanks to Kasey Palmer's brilliant first goal for the club, for the fourth game in succession, they failed to hold on to the lead, conceding to Brandon Hanlan’s equaliser on the hour mark, with Rovers unlucky not to take all three points themselves.

It saw Town still seven behind of Huddersfield with 10 games to go, and eight behind Stockport in fifth, as they failed to take advantage of the Royals’ 1-0 loss at Mansfield Town as well. Asked whether those dreams of extending their season are now over, boss Wilshere said: “To be honest, my message to the players at the minute is each game, each game as it comes, I think that’s the right way to go. I feel we have to do that, I feel we have to just try and win every game, like we did today (Saturday).

"Perform like we did today, but cut out the mistakes, cut out the cheap goals, which I’ve sat here a lot this season and said that. We’ll still go forward in the same way, the same process of trying to improve, trying to win games, and then let’s see how many points we can get between now and the end of the season. In this league it can happen right? It can happen at this stage of the season where teams drop points and other teams go on runs. We need to be one of those teams who go on a run, and it needs to start soon.”

Meanwhile, striker Nahki Wells also believes his side still has what it takes to get above the dotted line, but only if they can dramatically improve their form on the road, Luton currently on a miserable run of 10 games without a win after failing to beat struggling Port Vale and Doncaster recently, taking just three points from a possible 30 outside of Bedfordshire. He stated: “It’s maths, we can’t continue to drop points of course.

"Picking up a lot of points at home is a positive, so if we can turn the screw away from home, then we have all the capabilities to try and get there, but at this stage, us as a unit, we have to stop thinking about May and just focus on the next fixture. That’s something that we’re emphasising as it’s been something that’s been spoken about far too much this season. We’ve not been present enough and we just have to focus on the next game.”

Asked just why he though Luton have struggled so badly on the road for results and goals, as it’s now over four months since they triumphed, that at Stockport County on November 8, hitting the net just six times in that sequence, Wells, bagging one of them, he continued: “We’re constantly searching for reasons. I think we can all look each other in the eyes and it’s not through a lack of application, a lack of effort, a lack of will, a willingness to do it for each other.

"We’ve got a great group, a great team spirit, some experienced players and some really young players, a really good dressing room, and a good bunch of lads, that do care, but it’s the know-how and that’s been a big problem for us over the last 10 or so weeks away from home. We have to find a way and it’s not easy as no-one else is going to do it for us.

"It’s only us that can do it, but I promise you it’s not the will and it’s not our character. It’s just us as a group and cutting out silly, sloppy errors, whether it’s defensively or attacking and to get three points in this league. It’s hard. You almost have to do everything right and at the minute we can’t. We’re continuously shooting ourselves in the foot, and that’s directed to us as a whole, not any individual."

Wells did also hope that reaching Wembley in the Vertu Trophy final by beating Northampton Town would help boost the squad for the remainder of the campaign, especially those who haven’t played at the home of English football before. Although it hasn’t happened so far, Luton taking one point from a possible six, since defeating the Cobblers, he added: “It’s definitely something that can galvanise us as it just really felt like a moment that probably could turn our season into a positive.

"Obviously we have so much work to do in the league, but it’s all about moments like that in your football career. I know plenty of people, Kal’s (Naismith) one of them, I’m buzzing for him. I’m delighted he gets an opportunity to get to Wembley as he’s one of those players who just unfortunately never had the chance. For him it’s amazing. I’ve been a few times and it can be a bad day and it can be a great day. For us it’s about going there and trying to turn that tide and win the competition and do it for ourselves, but more importantly for the football club.”