Bernard McNally column: Keeping it simple will ease any Shrewsbury stress
I WAS interested to hear Paul Hurst talk of pressure after Shrewsbury’s 1-0 victory against Blackpool.
It wasn’t the most entertaining game but Town ground out a crucial three points and returned to winning ways against the Tangerines.
In such a tight game, where the sides were giving each other barely any space in midfield, I realised quite early it would be about who would seize the initiative and be able to mentally edge ahead.
Town’s manager discussed how his side should not feel pressure due to their brilliant position of second in League One –defying all the odds to get there.
We’re in a different zone now to where we were in the opening months of the season, where there was no expectation on Shrewsbury. Paul is very honest and he knows that.
As you move forward it’s the mental side of things for the players as individuals.
They can’t be overawed by that. They’ve got to think ‘I know there’s expectancy and I have expectations from myself, but I’m not going to beat myself up about it’.
You have to mentally tell yourself that you’re determined to go out there, give 100 per cent but play with freedom and relax.
What you don’t want is a group of players that are so wound up that they can’t perform.
In order to get over that, and these players have learned that in their short careers, what you tell yourself is absolutely vital.
When I was older at West Brom, young players would come in and you’d sense their nerves. They’d do a 10-yard pass and it didn’t come off. You could see their brains thinking ‘now I’ve got to do a 40 yard pass because that didn’t come off’ – and so on it went.
At a time where you get a little bit stressed, do the simple things. Give it to a team-mate and you work your way into it. Players have to learn those little things.
We had Ossie Ardiles at Albion. In the 1992/93 season we went to Wembley and I just remember him making us laugh in the team talk.
He said ‘you might be feeling nervous or have high anxiety levels but we don’t do that’. And he gave us a couple of quiet minutes to compose ourselves. I’m looking forward to Saturday’s visit of Portsmouth, which leads into the trip to leaders Wigan on Boxing Day. These are the kind of games you want to be involved in.
If you do not enjoy these kind of games against former Premier League sides, then you shouldn’t be in football!
You can see that these players will be well up for it. What I’ve seen this season in games against the likes of Wigan and Blackburn is that they do not seem fazed by anything.
They are great games to be involved in and what a great time to be part of Shrewsbury Town, especially when you remember how things were before Paul came in.
