Wilshere demands more 'ambition' from a Luton squad he knows lacks 'belief'
Hatters boss has to work harder to get his message across
Luton manager Jack Wilshere wants his side to show far more ‘ambition’ after they lost a third successive away game of 2026 when beaten 1-0 by Huddersfield Town on Tuesday night, although he knows to do that, his side have to somehow demonstrate a greater ‘belief’, a trait they are currently lacking, particularly on the road.
Having enjoyed an impressive festive period in which the Hatters won three home games in succession to begin to look like they could mount an assault on the play-off places, Wilshere challenged his side to prove they were serious about achieving that goal, with a top six spot declared the very least that is acceptable this term by the club’s hierarchy. However, after beating Stevenage at Kenilworth Road, Town drew 2-2 at home to Lincoln City, before two away games which gleaned absolutely nothing, losing 1-0 at Plymouth Argyle on Saturday and then going down to the Terriers by the same scoreline in midweek.
After suffering a 1-0 reverse at Exeter City on New Year’s Day, it means Luton have lost their last three outside of Bedfordshire by the same outcome, four in a row in total, with the loss at the Accu Stadium made worse by the fact that Town were up against 10 men for just over an hour, yet still returned empty-handed. Despite earning a point against Leyton Orient in early December, for the second season running, the Hatters’ record on their travels is nothing short of woeful, losing five out of six to make it a pitiful one point gained from 18 on offer, now without a victory since a thumping 3-0 success over Stockport County at Edgeley Park on November 8.
That means by the time Town are next on their travels, Wilshere’s men won’t have tasted that winning feeling on the road for over three months, and with little chance of ending that as they head to leaders Cardiff City, who have lost just twice in 15 matches in front of their own fans this term.
Speaking after their Hatters’ 1-0 defeat at the Accu Stadium in midweek, a game in which his side also failed to score on the road yet again, the fourth blank they have drawn in six away matches, a frustrated Wilshere said: “We know what we have to do and there’s 18 games left. We know what our ambition is, I want to see more ambition, I want to see us believe in that ambition, especially away from home. We have a lot of belief in certain moments, but in the moments that really matter, we don’t have belief.
"We train it a lot, simple finishing drills, simple drills, where attack versus defence, whatever you want to call it, where we’re constantly trying to put pressure on, constantly trying to attack the box, constantly trying to find that little bit of magic, that little bit of calmness in the box. But training is one thing and being able to execute it in a game where there’s pressure, where you feel like it’s probably one of those days where it’s not quite going your way, then it needs something a little bit different, a bit of magic and at the moment we can’t find it.”
Questioned as to just what he can do to try and improve his side’s belief, Wilshere, who also made reference to what he thinks are issues within the club’s culture that have remained since the double relegation from the Premier League, continued: “I think training. I’m a big believer as you can probably see that I want the team to have the ball.
"I want the team to try and dominate the ball, I’m not being stupid, we want to attack and hurt the opposition, but I believe the best way to do that is by having the ball and by having players who are technically good enough to do that. I believe in them, I believe we are, certainly you can see the team has changed a lot in the way we attack, we need variation as well, but it’s those moments in the final third which is the hardest.
"That’s why the number nines get paid the most, that’s why the goalscoring midfielders get paid the most as they have something a little bit different. Myself, I wasn’t a goalscoring midfielder, I was more of a creator and we have players who can do that, but we need that final touch, that final bit of calmness in the box and at the moment we’re lacking it.”
Having only been in the job for just over three months, on how difficult he is finding implementing his thoughts to the players, Wilshere’s overall record now reading six wins, five draws and six defeats from his 17 league games at the helm, the boss said: “Look at my hair you can see, but that’s the beauty of coaching and probably why I love it so much. At times it is hard, but my job is trying to make the players better and I love that, I love trying to win a game.
"It hurts so much when it doesn’t go that way and you end up losing a game you have to win, but that’s my job and I’m constantly trying to find ways to get the message across to the players, to keep them inspired and keep them believing in what we’re trying to do. I’ve obviously got to try and do it a little bit harder.”
What made Tuesday night’s reverse even more tough to take was that the Hatters had over an hour against 10 men in which to triumph, Alfie May seeing a straight red card for pulling the hair of Kasey Palmer as he looked to break free in midfield. On whether he thought the numerical advantage actually made things more difficult for his team, who only mustered one shot on target, that coming in the 71st minute, Wilshere added: “I said that at half time, I said to the players, eleven v eleven I thought we were the better team, we were the ones trying to create something.
"We didn’t create enough clear cut moments and when we did, same thing again, we didn’t have enough players in the box. Maybe with my players’ head on, from my experience, subconsciously, there probably is a little bit, even if it’s one, two, three percent, where you think it’s a little bit easier, and the one thing I’m earning in this league is the one, two, three percents are very, very important.
"It’s the same in the Premier League as well, but even more down here as it is so much chaos, it is. There’s not as much quality as there is in the Premier League so then it becomes a random game and little small details of landing on second balls, winning duels, stopping their counter attacks, stopping their moments when they run up the pitch, so yes maybe it (red card) did.”