Clarke Carlisle's Blog by Clarke_Carlisle

How do all! Well, my hopes of following up last week’s victory with another one down at Fulham were completely smashed! Fulham outclassed us for the most part and ran out worthy winners. Shame really, as we’ve been dragged into the relegation zone again, but there’s plenty of time and games to climb the table again.

I think it’s really bizarre how the results of matches can affect the psyche for the subsequent training sessions. As I was intimating last week, after a victory, the legs feel that little bit less tired, the journey into training is a little quicker, the weather is not as much of a problem and everything feels worthwhile. A lot of this can be flip-reversed after a defeat. Your legs feel like they’ll NEVER recover, it seems like it takes hours to get to work, it’s sooooo cold and sooooo wet, that you feel like all work will be futile. But the only thing that has changed is your psychological outlook! I believe that this area is another one of those fine lines between the good, and the great.

Results on a Saturday don’t define the quality of your training in between times, yet the quality of your training can definitely influence your results. The ability to compartmentalize results of matches, even individual incidents within matches, whether they’re good or bad, can help you to maintain a level of consistency that is unquestionable. I always try to remember that one mistake doesn’t make me a bad player, but allowing that one mistake to make me anxious and therefore make more mistakes, does! Conversely, scoring a goal or making a good pass doesn’t make me a good player, but consistently making the right decisions does! Whatever happens, I find that focusing on your next job is always a good place to start.

Now, I think that our manager realised this a long time ago, because he whisked us away to Portugal this week after Tuesday’s game. After a long winter, this was a fantastic tonic, even if it did rain for two of the three days! It was well worth it for the one day of sun. It’s been so long since we last saw it, we felt like declaring a public holiday or something! Trips like this can be a great break from the monotony of the same training ground, day after day, and especially the same horizontal sleet that Burnley seems to produce for the entirety of the winter!

After being away all week it was great to come home to the family and have “Mummy, Daddy, Marley Day” as my son likes to call it! Although, leaving my wife’s Valentine’s present on the coach was a bad idea, I’m just off to run her a bath, but I’m sure it’s going to take much more than this to make up for it! Let’s hope I’ve a happier wife and manager next week! Have a great week, and many blessings!