Wilshere hopes striking duo are clear on why they are missing out for Luton
Nordas and Gbode were both left out at Stockport County
Luton boss Jack Wilshere hopes that striking duo Lasse Nordas and Joe Gbode are both clear regarding why they aren’t featuring in the Hatters matchday squads at the moment.
Since the former Arsenal and England star took over last month, Nordas, a February signing from Norwegian top-flight side Tromsø, has been restricted to just 10 minutes of league action, that coming in Wilshere's first game in charge against Mansfield. He was an unused substitute for the 1-0 win at Northampton Town, before, with on-loan forward Ali Al-Hamadi now fit again following a calf injury, and Jerry Yates available too, missed out against both Forest Green Rovers in the FA Cup and Saturday’s trip to Stockport County.
The former Norwegian U21 international did get on for the final half an hour of the 3-1 Vertu Trophy group stage success over Brighton & Hove Albion U21s recently, fluffing a glorious chance to score his third of the season when going clean through late on. Gbode, 20, a summer deadline day signing from Gillingham, has had even less time in the league, not named in any of Wilshere’s three squads, or the FA Cup contest, although did start against the Seagulls, completing 82 minutes on the night.
Asked about the pair’s lack of match action so far, Wilshere said: “I hope they know why. I’ve had conversations with them and hope they’re clear on why that is. It’s tough, it is tough because you come in and without really seeing them play and going off training, I had decisions to make and it wasn’t easy. Also then we started to win games and it became difficult to make changes.
"They’re still part of it, they’re still part of the squad. They’re in training every day, they’re working hard, they’re trying to find their way into the squad, and listen, everyone has to be ready. It could be an injury, could be an illness overnight and all of a sudden you’re in the squad and then the last 20 minutes you could get your chance. So they have to stay ready and they are, they’re training well and we’ll need everyone.”
Wilshere admitted that he will be the kind of manager who doesn’t merely jettison a player out of the squad either without explaining the situation either, preferring to give those not included the reasons as to why he isn’t picking them. He continued: “Yes, for sure. I worked with loads of managers in the past and have some good experiences of that type of thing and some bad experiences of that type of thing.
"So when we talked about coming in and what do the players need, clarity was one of them. Clarity on what we’re doing, how we’re trying to play, what our vision is but also clarity for the individual if he’s not involved or he’s been left out. So we try and do that as staff, sometimes it’s not easy, but I think they deserve that.”
The new Hatters boss also went on to reiterate that both Nordas and Gbode, plus the others who have had limited minutes during his brief tenure, must make sure they are ready to go at a moment’s notice as well, particularly with Luton having a packed schedule which now includes cup games against both Fleetwood Town and Exeter City prior to Christmas.
He added: “Football has a funny way of showing up and I said to the players, now we’re in November and you may feel like, and it’s not the case, but I know what it’s like when you’re not playing as much and you’re on the bench, sometimes you’re not in the squad, you feel you’re not part of it. They are, number one, because in two, three months, you’ve seen the injury problems we’ve had already, who’s to say that can’t happen again?
"Football can do that, so we need to understand that they need to stay ready and that’s on us and the coaches to put on good sessions and make them feel part of it, and still developing. I said to the players, a sign of a good team and teams that go on to win things, if there are injuries or there is a dip in form which can happen, then someone else can come in and they need to understand exactly what it is. So to me they’re still all part of it and there’ll be some games soon that we’ll look to rotate, but they always need to be ready.”