'Passionate' Hatters fans earn high praise from Wilshere even during tough times

Hatters boss Jack Wilshere hailed the passion he has witnessed from Luton’s fans during his time in charge of the club so far, even when it has led to some heated exchanges from those in the stands and those on the field.

The Town chief took over a disgruntled and fractured club in October, as back-to-back relegations from the Premier League to League One, coupled with some poor results under previous boss Matt Bloomfield had seen the connection between fans and the club’s players and management at an all-time low.

Wilshere didn’t have it all his own way at the start either as despite some early signs the relationship was being repaired, a winless run of 11 games away from home saw Town jeered off when going empty-handed at places like Exeter, Wigan, Port Vale and Huddersfield, while with a place in the play-offs appearing out of reach, there were ugly scenes at home games as well, particularly the 1-1 draw with Burton Albion, in which Wilshere and Kal Naismith exchanged angry words with supporters, and the 3-2 loss against Reading.

Wilshere hadn’t been adverse to going over to the fans to see what they were thinking and explain his thought process as well, doing so after a poor 1-1 draw at Leyton Orient, but since that defeat to the Royals, there have been some real signs of green shoots emerging. Improved performances leading to a 10-game unbeaten run have clearly helped, along with Luton lifting the Vertu Trophy when beating top six side Stockport County 3-1 at Wembley.

With Town back in front of their fans one last time this season today as they host Barnsley, although there are still hopes they will return in the play-offs if they can dislodge one of the four teams currently above the dotted line, then asked if he had any kind of words for the sell-out crowd at Kenilworth Road, Wilshere said: “My message is just thank you.

"I love how passionate they are, I love how they demand off us, demand off me. I think back to the Burton game where I had a little altercation with a fan, I look back and think, fine, I want more, he wanted more, we all wanted more and I love how passionate the fans are. I think it's been hard at times for the players this season because they haven’t been able to deal with that adversity and that pressure and we’ve spoken a lot about that and worked hard on that.

"Ultimately the only way we turn that around is by winning games and giving fans performances they’re proud of and I think we’re there now with that. The fans have been outstanding, especially away as I know how hard it is to get to Rotherham on a Tuesday night. It means a lot to me, but also to the players. I hear the players talking about it now. We’re looking forward to trying to give the fans something to cheer about, which will then hopefully give us another game.”

Wilshere also felt that by heading into the supporters, it brought them closer to knowing just what he is trying to achieve, as he continued: “The first time I did that it was Leyton Orient away and we were terrible that game. It was a point gained, we scored late from a set-piece. I remember going over and one of the fans saying to me, ‘it’s not good enough,’ and I just said, ‘I know, I know and I understand that.’

"I was just trying to give then a little bit of context, saying we’re doing all we can to try and turn it around. I think sometimes the fans need that as well as sometimes the fans just sit in the crowd and they don’t get any interaction, or they don’t get any feedback from us. They probably see this (press conference) and hear me talk about certain situations and at times when I’ve sat there and we haven’t been good enough.

"I’ve tried to protect the players and give the players all the support as I’ve felt like they’ve been all in and they’re trying. Yes we’ve got some things wrong and just to go over and give them a little bit of context at times as well, I completely agree, but my job is to try and improve the players, try and win us games to try and make the fans happy. We’ve worked really hard at that and ultimately you need the fans to be onboard with that at the end and we really feel like they are now.”

One thing that Wilshere has managed to do is bring some enjoyment back to home games again, as following a season in which Town scored just 25 goals in 23 matches in front of their own fans, they also struggled at the start of the current campaign, with just five in five games under Bloomfield. It has started to turn around, as with Wilshere at the helm, then since Boxing Day, Luton have won eight from 11 in Bedfordshire, with just one loss in that time, to give themselves a chance of extending their campaign.

On improving their fortunes, Wilshere added: “We’re proud of our record there. When I first came there that was a big thing for us and the group and the staff, was trying to turn that around. We’ve had some testing times there this season where the fans have shown their frustration and completely understandable as I’ve said, and what I would say is these last block of games they’ve been outstanding, really, really outstanding, home and away, but in particular at home.

"I think about the Northampton game where after a cup final and our energy was a bit low and we knew we had to win that game. Going into the end of the game at 1-1, we need a bit of magic from Kal and he produced that, but they helped us get over the line with that and that is so important, especially when you have a stadium like we do. We need to use that, they’ve been excellent and hopefully we can finish the season off right.”