Wilshere reveals Fanne has become even 'hungrier' after Barnsley exclusion

Luton boss Jack Wilshere revealed he dropped youngster Lamine Fanne to the bench against Barnsley on Saturday in a bid to make the young midfielder that little bit more ‘hungrier’ to perform for the Hatters.

The 21-year-old had started the last seven League One games for Town before he was then on the bench at Oakwell in a move that ultimately backfired as the visitors were 4-0 down before he was introduced, going close to a consolation with his very first touch in what ended up as a 5-0 loss.

Fanne was then restored to the starting line-up when the Terriers were in Bedfordshire on Tuesday night, and responded with an all-action display, one of the leading reasons why the hosts were able to bounce back from that drubbing with a 2-1 success, particularly in the second period when he was the main one driving his side forward, especially once the visitors had restored parity.

The winning goal came when Town pressed well to win the ball back, Fanne’s low shot parried out to him by keeper Owen Goodman, before his rebound looked to be going in, only for Jerry Yates to slide in and turn it over the line, as he had five attempts on the night, testing the visiting stopper twice as well. Asked about just why he had left the former AIK player out against the Tykes, Wilshere said: “Sometimes it frustrates you with Lamine when he gets the ball and he turns and he drives through people, the next time he gets the ball he gives it away, so it’s something we’ve been working on, but we’ve been really happy with Lamine.

"We took him out of the team for the Barnsley game, and it wasn’t a decision that I made because he was doing badly. We were really happy with him, it was just something, we thought okay we’ll give Zack (Nelson) a go, bring Lamine out of the team, make him a little bit hungrier maybe, and we definitely saw that. He started to train a little bit better and I thought he was excellent in the game. A big moment for us in a moment where we needed him and he’s done that a few times since I’ve been here. So he’s someone we like, I really like and will just continue to work with to get that consistency now.”

On the thinking behind his decision-making, Wilshere, who is in his first number one role having been in charge of Arsenal U18s previously, added: “You’re always thinking about things and how you can push players and how you can challenge players a little bit more. I always talk about when I was playing, I remember my dad saying it to me years and years ago when I was 11, 12, about not being in your comfort zone and then Liam Brady was talking about the comfort zone, so it’s a very dangerous place to be.

"I’m not saying Lamine’s in that, but constantly trying to find ways to challenge, and push, and get them to show a little bit more, I think that’s development as well. We’re trying to make the players better all the time and we don’t want them to become comfortable.”