Luton chief hopes Yates rebuilds his confidence with Owls after social media criticism

Luton boss Jack Wilshere hopes that striker Jerry Yates can rebuild his confidence at Sheffield Wednesday after revealing that the criticism he was receiving on social media played a part in his below par performances for the Hatters this term.

The 29-year-old had joined from Swansea City in the summer, Town splashing out an undisclosed fee to bring in a forward who reached double figures for a struggling Derby County side in the Championship last term, also netting 20 for Blackpool when he was last in the third tier during the 2020-21 campaign. However, the forward struggled to ever really get going for the Hatters, netting just twice in 22 League One outings, one of them from the penalty spot, although did have his tally boosted with five goals in seven FA Cup and Vertu Trophy encounters.

When Wilshere took over in October, Yates quickly dropped down the pecking order, only making five starts in the league. He struggled to adapt to the number nine role that the former Arsenal and England star favours, having been at his best during his career when partnered upfront with a fellow attacker, which meant when he wasn’ included in the squad that travelled to Huddersfield on Tuesday night, it was no surprise to see him make the move to Hillsborough until the end of the season earlier today.

Yates had also failed to win the Hatters fans over during his time in Bedfordshire, as he was ironically cheered when being substituted at Exeter City on New Year’s Day, with a number of supporters venting their frustration with his performances on social media. It was something that Wilshere referenced when asked why a Championship club had been interested in a player who hadn’t been prolific at the level below this term, saying: “It’s quite simple, there’s different ways of playing, clubs have different needs, clubs have different financial situations where they might have to take a risk on a player from a lower league.

"I had a really good, open conversation with Yatesy about maybe it was a little bit of style that I want and he probably needs someone up there next to him to try and feed off a little bit more, but the main thing in my opinion is the effort that he gives and I know at times it was tough for him. We talk about the social media side of things, he was probably one that suffered from that a lot. His confidence was low and it just didn’t quite work out for him. So I hope he goes, I hope he finds his confidence, I hope he scores some goals. He’s still our player, he’s on loan, he’ll be back in the summer and let’s see if he comes back a different Jerry Yates.”

Despite his lack of goals this term, Wilshere did reserve words of praise for how the ex-Rotherham and Swindon forward has been during his own time in charge of the Hatters, adding: “When I came here, and I started working with the squad, I must say Yatesy, he’s been excellent. His attitude and his commitment to try and help the team, but I have a different way of playing than the last manager and he had a different way of playing than the last manager before that.

"I think that always happens at clubs and it’s probably best for him at the moment. It’s a loan, so let’s see how he gets on. We’ll still keep our eye on him, still keep in touch with him. I spoke to him yesterday and said how much respect I have for him because of my first job as a coach and sometimes it was difficult for him when he wasn’t playing as his attitude was spot on, so I hope he does well there.”