Jack Wilshere has urged his players to “have more belief” as Luton Town attempt to reignite their League One promotion bid amid a concerning run of away results.
The Hatters sit eighth in the table, four points off the play-off places, but have lost their previous five away matches, a sequence that has stalled momentum at a crucial stage of the season.
They were beaten last night by Wigan, only the second win in 13 for the Latics, but now under the guidance of Gary Caldwell. He had an immediate impact, but former Arsenal midfielder Wilshere is struggling to inspire the same in his players.
Speaking to BBC Three Counties Radio, Wilshere admitted there is a clear issue on the road that must be addressed quickly if an immediate return to the Championship is to remain realistic.
“We have to have more belief, and courage, which shows up in different ways,”
“Clearly there’s an issue away from home which I have to find the answer to. We have to look within ourselves, within the dressing room.”
“Away from home we have to cut out those moments where we don’t recognise the importance of keeping the ball, and when you do regain it – having a spell, especially against teams like [Cardiff], to take the sting out of the game, to kill their momentum.”
“We’ve done that a lot to teams this season, but away from home we can’t seem to do it at the moment.”
Luton have won just four away league matches all season, two under former head coach Matt Bloomfield and two since Wilshere’s appointment in October. The former Arsenal and England midfielder insists mentality should not be an excuse, but concedes recent setbacks may be having an impact.
“As a player I never felt that, and I want the team to believe that wherever we’re going to go, we’re trying to win a game and we can win a game,”
“We try to set the team in that way to do so. I hope it’s not, but maybe it is.”
With Wigan Athletic battling relegation and recently reappointing Gary Caldwell, Wilshere warned his side must be prepared for intensity and aggression.
“We’ve got a lot of respect for Wigan, like we did Cardiff.”
“In this league, they’re going to make it hard for us, they’re going to be aggressive, they’re going to press us high.”
“We have to make sure that we land on second balls, that we win duels and we’re better at recognising the moment to take care of the ball.”
The message is clear. Belief, control and resilience are required. Whether Luton can rediscover those traits away from home may ultimately define their season.
Time to go?
It’s never nice to suggest a manager should go, not one on the cusp of the play-offs, but context is needed. Luton have a budget close to £20m, four times that of Lincoln City and close to double almost every other side outside the top six in terms of wages.
They were pre-season favourites and should have the capacity to put out a side infinitely better than all but maybe Cardiff and Huddersfield. For them to be below us, Bradford and Stevenage isn’t just poor, it’s woeful, and Hatters’ fans deserve better.