Hatters forward admitted he was at 'rock bottom' following penalty failures

​Luton striker Nahki Wells revealed his struggle for goals since arriving at Kenilworth Road in the summer and back-to-back failures from the penalty spot had left him feeling at ‘rock bottom’.

The forward was snapped up on a free transfer by the Hatters having been released by Championship side Bristol City after a season in which he was on target 10 times for the Robins. With a career spanning almost 15 years and over 150 goals to his name, Wells was expected to hit the ground running in Bedfordshire, but it didn’t turn out that way, on target just once in his first 20 league outings, while to make matters worse, he also missed two penalties as well, seeing efforts saved against both Doncaster Rovers and Mansfield Town.

However he is clearly manager Jack Wilshere’s number one choice when it comes to playing the number nine role and after some promising performances recently, was rewarded with his fourth goal in all competitions at the weekend. Collecting Kal Naismith’s pass into feet, he span, moved forward, and then hammered a superb 25-yard strike into the bottom corner as Town hit back to make it 2-2 against Lincoln City on Saturday, ending his four month wait for another third tier strike.

Speaking afterwards, a relieved and honest Wells admitted just how tough things have been for him in Bedfordshire, saying: "I’m extremely pleased. Not often do I get those types of goals, I'm usually a fox in the box, in the right place at the right time, but today I kind of kept repeating to myself, when I get it try to be a little bit more selfish, try to take that risk. Kal played it into me, I turned and I just saw space and I said go for it and gratefully it flew into the bottom corner.

"You have to take the risk to get it at times and I probably haven't. I’ve had some low moments this season but performances of late and team performances as well have helped me. I’m growing, I know my impact on and off the pitch as a player and it was just stripping it back to basics. I’ve never really cut any corner, but as a player no matter how old you get, no matter how many trials and tribulations, or how much experience you get, when you care a lot sometimes it has an impact.

"I missed some penalties earlier in the season and it really took me to rock bottom. It really had me questioning things as I knew I was doing everything right on and off the pitch and I was really questioning just why me? I’m not too disappointed about missing them as I’ve missed plenty and I’ve scored loads in my career, but it was just one of those moments where I had to really peel it back to basics, really just trust the process. I’ve kind of played myself out of that, performances have shown.

"Obviously I want to score more goals, I want to contribute more from a numbers perspective, but I’m far from a selfish player, I just want to be part of something successful and win. I couldn’t care less if it was others doing it. That’s not always the right mentality, but to be a part of something special and to be a part of a team that’s going to do well, that is the right mentality. For me I just want to make sure I have an input to make sure we get to where we need to get to this season.

"I’m all about contributing in any way I can, whether that's running back, chasing back, leading from the front, creating, dropping into areas for others to be successful and get opportunities, so experience is paying dividends as I know how to contribute in not just scoring, but the ego’s there and as nines, you value yourself on these things.

"As soon as it came off my foot I knew it was in, so I’m delighted because I’ve been carrying that burden and that pressure of having to lead the side and score more goals. That’s something I haven't done, so I really want to make sure I have those contributions from now until the end of the season.”

Having scored his terrific goal to draw Town level, the one frustrating aspect for Wells was that the Hatters didn’t go on and claim all three points against the Imps, as he was convinced they were going to. The striker had one opportunity to put Luton in front just after the break when he headed Cohen Bramall’s pinpoint cross over, before he and the majority of the crowd thought the hosts were ahead on 72 minutes, Mads Andersen nodding in Joe Johnson’s free kick, but referee Scott Oldham controversially disallowed it for what he somehow saw as a foul on visiting keeper George Wickens.

Wells continued: “Today was a sweet moment to get us back into the game. I really felt that it was going to be a turning point for us, for myself I really felt that I would go and get the winner. Unfortunately they defended for their lives and it didn’t necessarily drop perfectly for me. I’m delighted to get that type of goal, but disappointed not to get that three points more importantly. I just really felt we could have turned the screw and got the winner and we did, and we all believe it should have been a goal that counted.”

Meanwhile, boss Jack Wilshere who has been championing Wells’ case even when the forward was going through his lengthy drought, starting him in five of the last six League One matches, as he grabbed two assists in that time, also winning a penalty against Leyton Orient, was thrilled to see him on target once more with a goal from open play too, his only other league strike coming from the spot against Plymouth Argyle.

He added: “I’m happy for Nahki as you can see how much I like Nahki by how much he plays and what he brings to the team. He finds himself in that position a lot, where he drops off and the centre back doesn’t really know whether to go. You think about the Stevenage game where he made the decision to pass (for Gideon Kodua to score) which was the right decision, today he took on the opportunity himself and it was a top goal.

"I always say it, he’s 35, so he’s older than me and these players, they inspire me because how they live every day and make sure that they’re right and how professional they are, then he gets his rewards. Hopefully that will give him a little bit of confidence in front of goal, but I’m also really happy with how he’s been playing and helping the team as well.

“The role of a nine now you look across the leagues is a lot different, but ultimately if you’re a number nine you want to score goals and if you ask him himself, he’ll say he could have scored more goals this season. He got his goal and hopefully that can be a springboard to just give a little bit more belief, a little bit more confidence because he keeps helping the team in other ways, but he still wants to score.”