Jack Wilshere over the moon to get off the mark as Luton boss

Jack Wilshere was “over the moon” to notch his first win as Luton boss.

Lamine Fanne scored late on in Wilshere’s second game in charge to clinch the Hatters a 1-0 victory at Northampton in League One.

The Hatters dominated the first half and most of the second at Sixfields before Fanne’s 77th-minute goal.

“I’m over the moon,” said Wilshere. “I’m really happy for the players because I think they deserve that.

“Last week was disappointing but all the work and preparation they’ve done since I came in has been outstanding and I thought we deserved the win today.

“I’ve spoken about unity a lot and you saw that on the pitch. We had to fight and we had to deal with their directness but we knew it would be a challenge because it always is when you play against direct play.

“We played well in the first half but were just missing that final bit so we spoke at half-time about being calm and playing that extra pass.

“We have a lot of quality players and our strength is in the final third because we can cause teams problems and that’s what we did in the second half.

“I’m really proud of the players and that’s the bar now and they have to keep up those levels.”

Ethan Wheatley had two big chances for Northampton, one at 0-0 and another in stoppage-time, but missed both as the Cobblers suffered back-to-back 1-0 defeats.

Cobblers boss Kevin Nolan said: “I’m disappointed because I felt we deserved something from the game. But it came down to the fact we weren’t clinical enough and we didn’t put the ball in the back of the net.

“They had opportunities too, don’t get me wrong, but we had some real clear-cut chances and good ones as well, but I must admit I thought we only really came alive and looked a bit more like our normal selves once we went 1-0 down. It took that moment for us to come to life.

“You see Ethan go through at the end and he puts it past the goalkeeper and you’re just waiting for the ball to hit the net but it wasn’t to be. They battled to keep their clean sheet and they got it and you could see the relief on their faces at the end of the game.

“It’s a bitter end to a disappointing week that started so well at Doncaster. I’ve said to the lads just now, I thought we matched Reading in midweek and we matched Luton today but we have lost both games and it’s not good enough.

“I’m very disappointed but we have to take it on the chin and move forward.”