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Wilshere hopes Town's players will be seeking revenge against Royals

· Mike Simmonds · 2026-08-15T06:21:36+00:00 · nguồn gốc

Wilshere hopes Town's players will be seeking revenge against Royals Luton suffered two defeats against the Royals last season Luton boss Jack Wilshere hopes his players will be intent on gaining a modicum of revenge when they travel to Reading for their opening League One encounter of the campaign this afternoon. It was against the Royals last term that Town suffered two of their most disappointing results of the campaign under the former England and Arsenal star, hitting back from trailing 2-0 with an hour gone in Berkshire thanks to goals from Jordan Clark and Nigel Lonwijk, only to immediately concede a winner, Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan taking advantage of some poor defending to score. It was the same outcome at home, although this time Luton were 2-1 up with nine minutes left, Lonwijk on target again, along with George Saville, only to fall apart at the back once more, two costly errors allowing Ehibhatiomhan to net twice and complete his hat-trick. Although that result, on March 7, is the last time Town have left a contested empty-handed, unbeaten in their following 13 fixtures, asked if he felt his players would want to make a response, with several of those involved likely to start at the Madejski Stadium, Wilshere said: “I hope so, and I do because I know these players and I know how they think. "As much as it’s a new season and I feel like we’re a completely different team, there is still that feeling that we gave them six points in my opinion last year. When you’re a player, you’re preparing for a game, thinking about how the game is going to be, the first thing you think of is the last game so that will be there and it’s down to us to make that right. “We had two disappointing results against them last year, however, probably two of our best performances. Away from home I thought we were outstanding, we gave away goals and the same at home. I think there’s clear lessons there, but also a big lesson to the players was since that Reading game, we’re undefeated in the league. "I spoke to the players and that’s down to them, that’s down to the drive and the unity that they've shown from that point. We were building, building, building and we kept talking about belief and confidence and ever since that moment I felt like we took massive steps. So it’s an interesting game against a good team, an experienced manager who knows the level. They've recruited a few players as well, so it’s a good start, a good League One game and we’ll be trying to be successful. Luton haven’t enjoyed facing today's opponents much in recent seasons, unable to triumph in their last four meetings, taking just two points from a possible 12. They haven’t emerged victorious since a 1-0 win in May 2022, when Harry Cornick’s hide-and-seek goal was the difference, Town completing the double that season, after a 2-0 success on the road too. Pushed on Luton’s poor record against their opponents, Wilshere added: “There’s a lot of difference now. How I see it is me and this team is zero wins out of two against them, so yes, we have to put that right. I feel like we’ve improved as a team, I feel like we’re a different team, I feel like the mentality is different and we need to keep that purpose, energy and commitment, try and impose the game that we want, while also understanding the level and requirements of League One. "So there’s a lot of difference since then, it’s a new season, it'll be a game where both teams will probably have a little bit of nerves because of that, but it's down to us to find our rhythm early, down to us to try and take the game away from them in front of their fans. Their fans will be of course looking forward to the start of the season, we’re taking 2,500 fans, it's down to us to give them something to cheer about but we’ll be ready for that.”