The past 2 seasons I’ve been playing for the U23’s so our games usually take place at 7pm on a Monday night. Throughout the week I try not to think to much about an upcoming game but the day before (usually a Sunday) is when I really try and switch on and focus. We train early on a Sunday, the session is always very light in preparation for the game. After training I like to eat a big lunch and use the recovery pools (Basically ice baths) just to give myself the best chance of feeling fresh the following day. Throughout the week I always nap but the day before a game I don’t, solely because I want to make sure I have an early night and get the best sleep possible! For the rest of the day I will usually just chill out, watch a bit of Netflix and head to sleep at around 11.
As our games don’t kick off till 7pm, I try to sleep for as long as possible on the morning of a game which hasn’t always been the easiest thing to do as my digs lady has a cleaner come to the house early every Monday morning, to say we’ve had a few arguments over this would be an understatement! In an ideal world I will stay asleep till about 11am, when I get up I make sure to drink about a litre of water to ensure I am hydrated. For lunch, I’ll drive to the training ground and have food there as it’s only 5 minutes away and I’m not exactly the best cook. We don’t meet at the training ground till 4:30pm so I’ll head back to digs and try and get my head down for another couple of hours, I love my sleep incase you hadn’t noticed.
Between arriving at the training ground and heading out to warm-up, I like to just be relaxed, have a bit of laugh and joke with the lads because I’ve learnt over the years that I always play better when I’m relaxed. As soon as our sports scientist gives the shout that were heading out to warm-up this is when I really start to focus and switch my mind on. I usually know by how my warm-up has gone whether I’ll have a good game or bad game, either way I try to just put my warm-up behind me and focus on my job ahead.
Whether it was playing for Belvedere in an U16 game that I knew we were likely to win 8-0 or playing in an U23 game against Manchester United at Old Trafford, the pre-match nerves are always the same. From my experiences I’ve found nerves to be a good thing for me, they usually start when I get off the bus and arrive at the ground but I think it just helps me concentrate more. When the referee blows his whistle, for the first 10 minutes I like to keep things simple and build confidence throughout a game. I try not to take any risks and keep my first 2/3 passes simple.
For me, the rest of the game is just about concentration. I’m quite a vocal person on the pitch and this just helps me stay switched on. If I make a mistake, I’ll try put it behind me as quick as possible and start building confidence again. I find 90 minutes goes really quickly when playing in a game and before you know it the referee has blown his final whistle. How I’ve performed in a game will determine my mood for the 2/3 days, my Mam and Dad will tell you all about that! Once we’ve got back to the training ground, I get in my car and pickup a takeaway on the way home. Sleep is usually hard to come by for me after a game and I usually spend hours on Hudl (App where the video of the game is uploaded to) analysing my performance. And that is what my Match day typically looks like.
A case for the defence 