Wilshere believes showing some love will get the best out of Luton star

Luton boss Jack Wilshere believes that showing Izzy Jones some much-needed love is allowing the Guyana international to start demonstrating his best form for the Hatters.

The 27-year-old only began 14 league games last season after Wilshere took over in October 2025, often playing as a right back or a wingback, and although he scored in the 3-0 win at Stockport County, managed just one more goal after that, which was in the Vertu Trophy, adding just two assists, when winning penalties at Cardiff City and Bolton Wanderers.

This term, he started out as right back once more, beginning five of the first six third tier matches, before dropping out of the team following a disappointing performance in the 2-1 loss at Stevenage, on the bench for the next four fixtures, Hakeem Odoffin preferred instead. Jones then got back in the side after an injury to the centre half against Barnsley and has excelled since, Town going on to win three and draw one.

During the 1-1 draw at top of the table Huddersfield a week ago, the ex-Middlesbrough attacker played right back and left back in what was without doubt up there as his best display in the 54 appearances he has made since arriving at the club for an undisclosed fee over 18 months ago, impressing on either flank with a terrific defensive display, also getting forward well at times too.

He has since credited Wilshere for giving him the push needed to perform at such a high level, as speaking after the match at the Accu Stadium, said: “I’m just enjoying my football. The gaffer gave me belief even when I wasn't in the team. I’m not a guy to sulk and moan and ask why I’m not playing, just put your head down, keep working and your chances will come. My chance came and thank god I took it and I’m just grateful for it.

Asked just how he was able to do that, the boss himself said: “I think Izzy is the type of character who needs love, he needs love all the time. Izzy himself will admit it, sometimes he can frustrate because he’s so good and sometimes he hasn't reached those levels, but then you’ve got a decision as a coach and as a coaching team to make, how you support that.

"Do you think that he's almost going, ‘no, it's fine,’ and that's his attitude and that’s the type he is, or when you know Izzy and you work with him, you know that he really cares and he wants to do really well, so then you continue to work with him. He knows how good I think he is and can be. I just try to give him that and he's delivering at the moment.”

Having now looked like he could have a key role once Town come back from international duty, then Wilshere believes having a spell out of the side has also helped ignite the desire within Jones to flourish in a Luton shirt, adding: “He's definitely stepped up. When you’re not in the team and Izzy for me has the ability to play at the level above, if he applies himself, as he has over these last five or six weeks, he won’t be too far away from that, then what helps with that is when you get a little bit of disappointment.

"He had that when we went to Wycombe, the team came up and it was Hakeem at right back, it was almost four centre backs playing across the back-line. You then have a decision to make as a player, whether you sit there and you let it get the better of you, and everyone has it, that voice in your head saying, it should be you playing, why's it not that?

"Izzy made the decision to go, okay, that's fine, I’m going to accept that and then you've got a decision to make. How you train, how you work, how you watch when you’re sitting in here (at the training ground), and we’re talking about the game and what we did well. Probably in those games, the Wycombe game and a few after that, one thing we did really well was defend and defend on the sides, and that’s really important that when the teams get on the sides, we keep them there.

"We were aggressive in duels and there’s a lot of conversations about one v one defending all the time, a few people mention Izzy and say when he's on it, he’s probably our best one v one defender. He certainly showed that against one of the best players in the league (Huddersfield’s Derensili Sanches Fernandes) and also what I like most was Izzy’s fourth game in a really short period of time, there was a decision for me to make when we made the subs on 77 minutes.

"Izzy was in a bad way, he looked really tired and we made the decision that he can go through that. That's because of my relationship with Izzy and what I know he can do and credit to him as he needs to keep going like that. if you ask Izzy, he'll think he can add more of an input from an attacking sense, which I agree. He gets into some dangerous positions and he is improving with his final action, but first of all, his fight and his desire is outstanding.”