Luton must win the fight but Town don't need to turn into Stevenage to beat Boro

Although Luton boss Jack Wilshere knows the Hatters simply have to win the fight to give themselves any chance of beating Stevenage this evening, he will remind his players they don’t need to turn into Boro to ensure they have the best chance of doing so.

Town travel to the SPORTA Arena to take on a side who they haven’t defeated on their travels since goals from Luke Wilkinson and Alex Wall gave them a 2-1 League Two success almost 12 years ago in October 2014, the following five visits seeing Luton beaten three time and draw the other two.

The contest is no doubt one of Boro’s biggest and most eagerly-anticipated of the campaign, a game that certainly gets the juices of the home fans flowing, as it has also been picked for Sky TV coverage as well. When going through his pre-match messaging, Wilshere has and will tell his side in no uncertain terms what to expect, but he also wants them to play their own way too, as asked how they will equal the extra energy that Alex Revell’s team will no doubt bring to the occasion, he said: “It’s not just matching it, it’s beating it.

"We know what we want to be, we have an identity, but my coach said to me at under-10s, you have to earn the right, and that stuck with me ever since. Every game that I went into, the first thing I always thought was be difficult to play against, who’s your direct opponent, make sure you dominate him and then you can think about how you want to play with the ball.

"So it’s not about matching it, it’s about beating it. Stevenage are very good at it, so it’s not about turning into Stevenage to beat Stevenage, but it’s about winning that fight first of all. Being aggressive, being focused and being disciplined when the ball goes over us to sprint back and land on second balls, that's really important, in any game, but probably more in this game.”

Luton’s last trip to Stevenage in early October was Matt Bloomfield’s final contest in charge as they suffered a 2-0 reverse, which saw the away end turn vociferously on the former manager, who was then sacked two days later. Having viewed that match since, and also played Stevenage at home last term, a Town coming out on top 2-1, then Wilshere knows just what the fixture will mean to the hosts, as asked what he took from looking back at the Hatters’ previous clash in Hertfordshire, continued: “I watched that game a few times and this game, there is something extra in it.

"Luton Town going to Stevenage, it's a really big game for them. It’s a big game for us as well, but over the years, when Luton have been in a higher division, there was something extra in that game for Stevenage. We have to understand that and we have to be able to match that, that fight. There'll be energy in the stadium. I’ve been there so many times as a kid and I went there last season to watch, I think it was Bolton versus Stevenage, and it’s not an easy place to play.

"The fans are close, they’re going to be extra loud for this game and I felt like when I watched that game (against Luton), Stevenage probably had a bit more aggression, a little bit more on the front foot. If I remember rightly, Cohen (Bramall) had an opportunity quite early in that game, so the message from me to the players is we have to be ready for that, ready for what’s coming. There’s no surprise, it’s going to be difficult.

"We'll have to fight, we’re going to have to win that fight to earn the right to put the ball down and start playing, and showing who we are. That doesn’t matter if we don't win the fight, so that’s my learning from that game, how difficult they were to play against, not just that game, but in the home game as well. They made it tough for us, and they made it difficult for every opposition and got their rewards for that when they got into the play-offs, so a tough place.”

Boro were able to make it into the top six last year courtesy of a last-minute winner against Wigan Athletic on the final day, a controversial one as well, Dan Sweeney’s effort adjudged to have crossed the line when TV replays were to prove inconclusive. It saw the Hatters pipped to the dotted line, meaning their last-gasp 3-2 triumph at Bolton Wanderers counted for nothing, as asked if that added anything to the contest, Wilshere, who is a Stevenage native himself, said: “I think it hurt at the end of last season, of course it did.

"They got there at the end, scoring in the last minute and stopping us getting there, so naturally, yes it does hurt. I’m actually born in Stevenage as well, so it’s the first time I’ve been there as a coach. I’m looking forward to it, it’s a place I know well. I spent a lot of my childhood growing up there, I drove past that stadium so many times, I know the fans enjoy it and we’ve sold out. So it’s going to be a good game, an intense game, and we have to make sure that we’re ready for that fight.”

The hosts had made a difficult start to the campaign, as having failed to win any of their first four matches, with three draws, they then thumped Barnsley 5-1 last weekend, as despite trailing 1-0 and being level at half time, netted four times in the second period to triumph. On their opponents, Wilshere added: “I know that Alex probably hasn't got the results that he wanted so far this season. He’s lost a couple of important players from that group last year, but they’ve also recruited, so he’s trying to build again and I’ve no doubt they'll get there.

“They’re a difficult team to play against, they’ve got good players. Yes they have a certain way of playing, but I know Dan Kemp well from my time at West Ham, a good player. They bought in (Josh) Magennis who’s a good player at the level, they’ve got a defensive structure that is consistent, they’re hard to play against, they’re hard to beat, they defend for their lives and they’re good on set-pieces, so credit to them.

"Last year, they had an outstanding season and Alex kept getting more and more out of them. When they got a setback, they bounced back and they were probably the most consistent team in the league in that, and didn’t concede many goals. We definitely won't be underestimating them, we know their strengths, we know their qualities and we also know it’s a difficult place to go.”