The former Arsenal academy graduate, now Luton Town manager, was asked about the prospect of facing Tottenham in the Championship next season if his League One side secure a play‑off place
Jack Wilshere has played down the prospect of facing Tottenham in the Championship next season as his Luton Town side chase promotion to the second tier. While Luton remain in the hunt for a play‑off place, Tottenham are battling to avoid the drop with only four games left.
Roberto De Zerbi earned his first win as Tottenham manager at the weekend with a 1-0 victory away at Wolves, but the result was overshadowed by fresh injury blows to Xavi Simons and Dominic Solanke. Spurs sit 18th, two points adrift of safety, as they battle against West Ham in the survival race.
Spurs travel to Aston Villa on Sunday, while West Ham head to Brentford. As for Luton, Wilshere is aiming to guide his side into the play‑offs. They sit seventh, just one point behind sixth‑placed Stevenage, with everything riding on Saturday's final fixture.
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Luton's play‑off hopes hinge on beating Bolton Wanderers and Stevenage slipping up against Wigan. With everything riding on Saturday, Wilshere appeared on talkSPORT Breakfast on Wednesday.
Ex‑Arsenal teammate Ray Parlour quizzed him on the possibility of meeting Spurs in the Championship next year. "I knew you were going to say that," the former midfielder replied.
"I knew you were going to say that. Listen, the focus is on us. We only focus on us."
Ahead of facing Villa, Spurs have a staggering 10 players sidelined. Wilson Odobert, Mohamed Kudus, Dejan Kulusevski, Cristian Romero, Ben Davies, Guglielmo Vicario, Destiny Udogie and Pape Matar Sarr are all out at the worst possible time.
It is a far brighter picture at Kenilworth Road, where Wilshere has already lifted his first trophy after guiding Luton to victory over Stockport County in the EFL Trophy final earlier this month.
When asked about facing a play-off rival on the final day, Wilshere added: "It's still tight and I know they'll want to finish third because you obviously get a little bit of advantage. I believe that once you're in the play-offs the games are something special and it's about who the best team is on the day and who deals with that pressure the best.
"I can't see Bolton doing that [resting players] because they'll want to finish third and I think you get home advantage for the second leg. I think they'll be going for that and also you want to go into it in good form, you want to have momentum and they're a good team."
Appointed in October, the former Arsenal midfielder is thriving in his first permanent role in senior management.