Stoke City call in SAS as Mark Robins looks to find psychological edge
Mark Robins gets the SAS into Clayton Wood as Stoke City prepare for Watford and he discusses mulling over a mobile phone ban
Stoke City welcomed big fan and former SAS commander Melvyn Downes to the training ground to talk to players in the build-up to a home clash with Watford (3pm).
Stoke are trying to inspire players to cope better with mental challenges and, if Mark Robins admits a home game in front of supporters who are desperate to get behind you is far removed from special forces operations in Bosnia or Iraq, there is still a fear factor that they need to get over to play with positivity in difficult moments.
“He was good,” said Robins. “Listening to different people from different walks of life and experiences is always interesting. His story is a really interesting one and he comes from a tough environment – it was a tough environment wherever he went in his career – and he’s still here to tell the tale. It’s inspiring to listen to people who have had those experiences in life and how they’ve dealt with them. What soldiers go through and what the SAS go through as trained specialists has an impact on you for the rest of your life as well. He was inspiring to listen to.”
He added: “Psychologically (if there is a fear factor) you end up playing in a negative way and you might stand with the ball at your feet and you might look as if you’re a bit frozen in time and it might look like there’s no urgency, that might translate to negativity and all of a sudden you go and start to play backwards rather than forwards.
“We had this talk from the SAS and a Stoke City supporter (in Melvyn Downes) on Thursday. The reality of it is that they do their job in the face of real danger because there’s a threat to life. There’s no threat to life for us, it’s a game of football. We’ve got to remember that. People are doing jobs in far more difficult circumstances than playing a game of football in front of supporters who really want to cheer you.
“We’ve got to remind ourselves and they’ve got to remind themselves of that and I’ll remind them again but I don’t think there’s a major issue. I think it’s just always that you’re human beings, young players who are learning and have not been in that environment before or felt that environment before and it can be difficult for them.
“You learn in these moments and gain from that over a period of your career. You don’t want to go through it but it might spur you on to better things in time. But in the here and now I want focused, positive players who are in the moment and doing as well as they possibly can and putting the shift in they did the other night in terms of the distance they covered and the way they covered the ground but with a bit of thought. We can run around like headless chickens and that might get you some success at certain times but if you’re going to get more consistent success you’ve got to understand why you’re doing it, when you need to go. Generally, they’re trying to do that.”
Downes grew up in Bentilee and left school at 16 to join the Army. By 25 he was a corporal in the Staffordshire Regiment during the Gulf War and he went on to serve in the SAS for 12 years. Recently he has starred in Channel 4 hit SAS: Who Dares Wins.
