A few years ago, my dog’s mother was abandoned in woods whilst pregnant, so she dug a hole under a tree and had her litter. Several months later the pups were all rescued and rehomed however those early experiences continue to shape my dog’s behaviours today. We have recently found a hole, in the soil under a laurel bush, where he goes to hide on occasions.
With the Devs, I recently found myself making a conscious decision to stick with what we knew. I liked the comfort of knowing our expectations and being clear in our way of playing. I value training so I do not want to put the players into situations that they have not been trained to cope with however I do want to make effective use of their prior learning and experiences. We have invested so much time and energy in getting Plan A to work that doing things differently feels like too much of a task to undertake. Our players are buying into the current way of doing things and are trusting us to support them today. With back-to-back teams of the month, we could be forgiven for maintaining the status quo because clearly something is working well. However, we have played poor teams in recent weeks, and this might have lulled us into a false sense of security. I have seen some of our players hesitate in moments where they have had too much time to think and others that have dipped in form as they have been moved around positions to accommodate others. As our approach to this league has always been to develop people, carrying the weight of a 14-game unbeaten run is nothing more than another learning opportunity. Likewise, the presence of first team players and staff, spectating at our recent cup match, provided another set of conditions and pressures. The cup progression is built on win, or it is over. In many ways it reflects our form table, and we are learning from it. Yet, we still have not had a game when all our players have been at their best. A few of the most gifted players have had moments where they have choked and several of the least-expected-heroes have stood up to be counted. The mental side of the game is clearly being tested. We feel confident that the group have more levels to climb and with two semi-finals coming up, we see the opportunity to work to other incentives. Simply put; there is more learning to be done.
This weekend we play the team one place behind us in the league, and we have been gifted the opportunity of playing on Ashby Avenue. The environment will feel different. It will be a home away from what we usually know. As management, we will do all we can to ensure our players’ mindset is as positive as it can be and that we learn to manage the occasion, the pressure of the run and our ability to produce a meaningful performance. When we return to Priory school next week, we need to be better for the experience: with or without three points. We will encourage them to continue to be brave and to be resilient as we do not want them to break under the current pressures. The staff will need to model this; there will be no resting on (or under) our laurels!
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