Wilshere happy with his level of involvement in Luton's recruitment process

Luton boss Jack Wilshere has explained in detail just exactly how the recruitment process is working at Kenilworth Road, also stating he is more than happy with his level of involvement in proceedings.

The Hatters chief had spoken on Tuesday night about a possible deal for Port Vale forward Devante Cole during the January transfer window, as asked whether the striker was someone he and the club were interested in, replied: “I have to have faith and trust in the powers above me that they’re doing the work and trust that if it is him that he’s going to be the right one, or whoever it might be. I’m not sure, but the recruitment team and everyone involved in that is working hard to try and improve us.”

It led to some fans question just how much of a role that the former England and Arsenal star was having when it came to bringing players in at Kenilworth Road, as many had thought that he would be able to entice some of the best youngsters from his former club to Bedfordshire when appointed as Matt Bloomfield’s successor a few months ago. Having spoken at length with the press in his pre-match Blackpool press conference this afternoon, the boss gave a full description of the role he plays, declaring it was very much a collaborative process.

He said: “We work together. I will come with some ideas, they will come with some ideas. We’ll sit down, they’ll watch the player, I’ll watch the player, I’ll get the coaches to watch the player, we’ll send our scouts to watch the player, some proper Luton people, Mick Harford goes out and watches, another scout called Marc Tracy will go out and watch, it’s a long process. I’ll identify what I think, we’ll use data, data’s very important and I think nowadays in football you have to.

"All the big clubs are using it, we use that really well in my opinion, which will come up with a list, but then of course you need eyes on. You need to watch them and see certain things that the data won’t show. They’ll be a list from me, a list from recruitment and then we’ll come together, we’ll meet, we’ll talk about it, see what deals are available, see if this club is going to let him out and maybe not, so we’ll have to look at another one. Yes, it’s a long process but you have to have it that way, it has to be clear, has to be thorough, we have to go through character references as well, there’s a lot that goes into it.

"I’m across it as well as the recruitment team are. It's been a busy month, probably later on in January its starting to get a little bit busier, but we were here (club offices), me, Chris Powell (assistant) all the recruitment team a lot this month, talking about things, talking about potential outgoings, potential incomings, what that would look like. Especially the last few days we were here, we had fish and chips here at 10 o’clock last night, so I have been really involved and I’m grateful for that as well as I’m not sure that happens at every club, but it’s something I’ve really enjoyed.”

With Luton have signed just Emilio Lawrence from Manchester City and Hull City’s Kasey Palmer on loan deals thus far, questioned as to whether he has the final say before any new additions are added to the squad, Wilshere continued: “I don’t think that the club would sign a player that I’d said no to, but I also think that if I came with a player and the club said no then we wouldn’t sign him as well. We have to be that way, we have to be joined up with our thinking from a football point of view, from a business point of view, and we are, we are.

“Then we’ll have discussions about it, sometimes heated discussions. Sometimes we agree on everything and I think that’s the way it has to be. When you're looking to improve and add to what I believe is a high performing environment, you have to be challenged, you have to have tough conversations. You have to come up with ideas, you have to be told no, you have to then go back and forth, that’s the way it works.

“Honestly I’ve really enjoyed this process of working with the recruitment team, of going through January. It’s not done yet and people are telling me that the last few days are the busiest so you'll probably see me at the next press conference with no hair and really black eyes, but I've enjoyed it.”

With Wilshere having to prepare for a third League One clash in a week at home to Blackpool tomorrow, on how much of his time the process of the January transfer window is taking too, Wilshere added: “It’s consuming that’s for sure, but Whatsapp's amazing. We’ve got a group chat and there's loads and loads of messages going in.

"I'm in constant contact, probably over 20 phone-calls a day with the head of recruitment (Yousuf Sajjad), with Gary (Sweet, chief executive). I come over here and see him, so it is consuming, but I think it has to be that way. We have to try and improve where we can. We've got an ambition to try and get out of this league, when you’ve got that ambition and everyone's aligned with that, we have to get the work done.”