But with that in mind, Norwich’s boss admitted he was “a little bit surprised” to see Michael Carrick’s side as low as ninth in the table.
Wilshere’s first game as part of the Norwich staff after joining from Arsenal was against Boro at Carrow Road back in October. And Carrick’s side were again the opponents in his first game in the dugout as head coach on Saturday, with the former England midfielder having replaced Johannes Hoff Thorup on an interim basis at the start of the week.
Wilshere feels Boro’s league position reflects their inconsistency but was still wary of the threats Carrick’s side posed and delighted with the way the Canaries dealt with them in the 0-0 draw at the Riverside.
“Michael plays in a certain way and he’s really clear with that,” he said.
“The players have clarity and we prepared for what we thought.
“The boys really executed the gameplan well and we won the ball back high a lot.
“My first game at Norwich was actually Middlesbrough at home. Since then, and studying the league, they’re one of the better teams, they like to dominate the ball and can hurt you in certain areas. We nullified that really well.”
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Asked whether he was surprised to see Boro down in ninth, Wilshere said: “Yeah, I think so.
“What I’ve learnt is that this league is really difficult and you have different challenges and different environments.
“A big part of this league is momentum. I’m a little bit surprised at where they are but they’re a good team still.”
Wilshere felt his side deserved at least a point at the Riverside, with Norwich halting their recent slide after a run of three straight defeats which led to Thorup’s dismissal.
He said: “I said to the players before the game, when you come away from home you have to make sure you stay in the game. Too many times this season we’ve been chasing the game. The way the lads defended their box was brilliant.
“If you’re not a defender you have to create what I call a love for defending and the lads did that.
“We had a few nice moments with the ball as well and nearly scored. It was a good performance.
“Even when you’re on the side of the pitch or in the dugout, sometimes you’re like a fan and you want to see that fight and hunger.
“I know we have some real fighters in this group and it was about trying to give them the freedom to express that.”
Wilshere, who is running the London Marathon on Sunday morning, also revealed something of a curveball choice in his pre-match team talk in the Riverside dressing room.
“Pete Dye, the kitman, he did the last speech before the players went out,” he said.
“When you talk about unity, this club is full of good people and someone like Pete who has been here and really cares. This is his life and it was important for the players to hear that.
“It worked. We needed a bit of inspiration after the emotions of this week and Pete helped to give us that.”
