Running with the ball becomes second nature. Running with the ball becomes second nature. Image: Warren Clarke

 

Recovery

“We’re at an age now where we are all professional enough to do our recovery ourselves. So if our bodies are sore we go in for some hot-cold treatment or throw on the compression garments. Most of the time we have masseurs at training who give us a light rub and work the soreness out of our legs. We also do yoga, normally twice a week. It’s a massive help – a couple of the older boys are always saying they wished they had yoga when they were younger. After a hard yoga session you feel a bit sore but the next day you feel amazing. It really works that heavy soreness out of your legs.

“Most of the boys are pretty good with their diet. We have lunch as a team each day and that just has your basic pasta and salads with either chicken or steak. Some of the boys take supplements before the game, just as an energy thing. After a particularly hard session we’ll have high protein recovery shakes waiting for us in the sheds.”

 Playing the mind

“As a player, when you get the ball you have to know where you’re going to go next. You have to think, ‘If I’m going to get the ball from this person, I have to play it to that person.’ That forethought means you’re not losing possession, not getting caught with the ball at your feet. As a striker you need to think, ‘Okay, if I get the ball here, can I shoot first time? Where’s my body in relation to the goals? Where’s the defender standing? Can I hit it first time? Or do I need to take a touch first and hit it around him?’ If you drill little questions like these into your head at training, then they become second nature during the game. That’s how you look like a sharp-shooter!

“But, as a striker, the first question that comes into your head has to be, ‘Can I score?’ If you can’t score, okay, lay it off. When you lay it off, get in the box and get in a good area so you can knock-in those easy goals.

“Any striker will tell you that they’ve had those games, those training sessions, where no matter how hard you train, the ball’s not going to go in for you. But if you do the basic stuff right at training – get yourself into good positions, find your range before you start whipping them in – then eventually you’ll get the easy tap in and that gets the confidence back up.”

Confidence tricks

“Striker’s a hard role because it’s a confidence position. If you’re low on confidence you can make it very hard on yourself. You just have to keep doing the basic stuff right. For example, look at ‘Brosquey’ (Sydney FC striker Alex Brosque) – he hasn’t scored yet this season. But he’s been playing brilliantly. He’s been doing everything right – except score. He hasn’t been missing opportunities; things just haven’t fallen for him yet. But he’s still doing the basic things right.

“As a striker you have to think, ‘If I’m not scoring, I can still play a big part in the team. I can still run to help my team defend or lay it off in the box for someone else.’ You have to keep grinding away, keep running, keep doing the simple things right. Sooner or later it’s going to come. You can’t think to yourself, ‘Okay I’m not scoring, the manager’s angry with me, I’m a bad player.’ You’re not a bad player. Everyone goes through those patches. Just grind away.”