Bradley Pritchard column

By Bradley Pritchard
Tamworth midfielder

There are clear differences between standards and leagues, but I honestly believe that every footballer feels the same pain that a loss can bring Reflecting on Tamworth's poor run

We had another disappointing result last weekend, losing at home to Hayes and Yeading.

We've lost our last five league games now and that's a position that I've never found myself in before, and I know it's unique to the majority of the other lads as well.

Jamie Carragher summed it up in his interview on Match of the Day after Liverpool's defeat at Fulham when he just said plainly: "It hurts a lot."

There's nothing more that summarises the effect of a string of poor results on players more than that.

It also got me thinking about the similarities between footballers, irrespective of their level.

Obviously there are clear differences between standards and leagues, but I honestly believe that every footballer feels the same pain that a loss can bring.

Whether they play in the Premier League or non-league, I still think that players will all go through that period after the game where they're either watching TV, or out having a meal and they're suddenly hit by flash backs of the game where they think things could have been different.

Things like 'if I had jumped higher maybe I could've directed the header better', 'if I had seen that pass a split second earlier maybe it would've changed the situation'.

Football, or professional sport in general, has that psychological ability to create nightmares when you're down, or delude you when you're on a high.

Some may say that although the hours are less than your average 9-5 occupation, the hours you spend thinking about it when you're away from the 'office' can consume you.

No matter the variation in ability, the one thing that professional sportsmen and women share is mental toughness and I can see why.

In training this week, we've had everyone back bar Rodders (Alex Rodman).

On Thursday we even had enough players for a 10 v 10 - a rare sight a few weeks ago.

That was as tiring as anything and the gaffer has decided to give us the weekend off.

With this weekend being the first round of the FA Cup it's going to be weird because we don't have a game. I can't think of many times when I've had a Saturday off during the season.

In our team there are a lot of very honest players, those who know when they aren't performing to a required standarde Bradley Pritchard

The feeling will be pretty varied among the boys, I think. Some may think that a break is exactly what we need, allowing us to clear our heads and allow time to refocus, while others may not want to be drawn away from the Saturday routine.

Either way, I think we'd all prefer to still be in the FA Cup. I wouldn't be surprised if everyone watches some form of football, whether it be FA Cup or a local game, because it is difficult to completely switch off.

It's going to be a new thing for a few of the lads' partners who won't be used to them being at home for the whole Saturday.

My condolences to Smudge's (Chris Smith) girlfriend who'll probably have to sit through a day of football followed by the Haye v Valuev fight.

On a personal note, I've begun to enjoy my football again.

I haven't done anything differently but I feel like I'm slowly getting back to a level that I should be at, and now it's all about trying to be as effective as possible.

In our team there are a lot of very honest players, those who know when they aren't performing to a required standard.

No one really tries to pass the blame onto anyone else, and I think times like these call for people to be honest because that's where we can start to improve. And I honestly believe we will sooner rather than later.