Luton Town manager Jack Wilshere has admitted he will look to add more goal threat to his squad this month following a 1-0 defeat at Exeter City yesterday.
The 34-year-old replaced Matt Bloomfield at Kenilworth Road in October and despite some inconsistent form, has managed to guide the the club up the League One table. The tight nature of the division means that the Hatters remain on the fringes of the play-off positions.
An excellent start to the festive period saw the Bedfordshire-based side record emphatic victories over Wycombe Wanderers and Leyton Orient, winning 4-0 and 3-0 respectively. However, with all the teams above them failing to pick up three points yesterday, the defeat at St James Park proved to be a huge missed opportunity to move level on points with sixth-placed Bolton Wanderers.
Luton Left To Rue Lack Of Firepower
Having scored seven goals in their previous two matches, Luton had every right to feel confident ahead of their trip to struggling Exeter. Despite dominating possession, Wilshere’s side failed to garner a single shot on target as the Grecians frustrated their visitors.
It was yet another disappointing display on the road. The former Premier League side have lost three and drawn one of their last four away games and haven’t won outside of Kenilworth Road since early November.
Overall, the Hatters do have four away triumphs to their name this season, though two of those came in August under the previous management. Clearly this kind of form isn’t sustainable if they are to achieve their ambition of bouncing back to the Championship at the first time of asking.
Wilshere To Address Major Concern
The opening of the transfer windows gives teams the chance to add what could be the final jigsaw pieces to their squad. For Wilshere, yesterday’s display has made it obvious which areas he needs to improve. Via Luton Today, the former Arsenal and England midfielder addressed his concerns:
“What I’ve learned about this league is it’s a completely different game away from home, especially as well because we are Luton and teams come to the Kenny and probably pay us a little bit more respect than if we were playing them at home and you need a different mindset. My thoughts haven’t changed on that, we’re pretty clear going into the window what we want, what we need and I just think if we analyse today, we definitely need more threat.”
Luton will look to end their away day hoodoo on Sunday when they travel to relegation-threatened Doncaster Rovers. Continuing, Wilshere revealed no fresh faces are expected for that trip:
“I’m not sure (how quickly they will happen). This is my first window and I’m learning, I’m listening to the club, I’m listening to Powelly (Chris Powell, assistant) who has great experience of this time of year. Probably the earlier it can happen the better, so let’s see what the next few days, few weeks bring. Right now our focus is let’s recover, let’s see how everyone is tomorrow as we travel on Saturday to Doncaster, so nothing’s going to happen before then.”
Following this weekend’s clash, Wilshere faces two tough home games against fellow promotion candidates Stevenage and Lincoln City.