Our Shrink Will Help Us Not To Sink
Darren McGregor is backing St Mirren's mysterious shrink to end their wretched curse of losing last gasp goals. The Buddies have dropped a raft of points and denied themselves a place in the Scottish Cup semi-final by conceding eight times in dying minutes of matches this term.
Boss Danny Lennon has drafted in a sports psychologist, who has worked closely with the players in a bid to solve the problem. And while the Saints boss refuses to reveal the identity of the mind guru, McGregor is convinced he can guide them to victory in today's relegation crunch.
The defender said, "We're all aware of the amount of goals we've conceded late on. Everyone keeps asking why it keeps happening and why do you keep doing it? It's just one of those things and we're not quite sure why, whether it's our mind-set, it's fatigue or other aspects. The gaffer has employed the psychologist to help us with that mind-set. A lot of times in football it is your mental state of mind as opposed to anything physical. We've been training hard physically and mentally so hopefully we can put that package together and get a result."
"The psychologist has only come in the past few weeks but hopefully it will tell in the next few weeks and if it does you can say maybe it has been our mental state of mind. I don't know if he will be a mainstay but if it works the gaffer will be happy to keep him about."
McGregor admits his team mates have embraced the new club shrink, known only as Steven, and insists they're happy to let him into their heads. He said, "Everton boss Davie Moyes is a big believer in it and he's a Premiership manager. I'm open to new things and believe if it's going to help you I'm willing to take it on board. I've spoken to the psychologist a few times, It's not just football we spoke about, it's everything. He's a good guy to speak to and gets things off your chest. He's skilled in what he does and can break it down for you. He spoke to us as a group and has given us a team dynamic."
Lennon is confident his players have what it takes to stay up this term because he believes the possibility of relegation doesn't bear thinking about. The Buddies boss said, "The players have had time to get their heads right. There are a lot of boys out of contract and they have to keep a roof over their heads. That should be their motivation over the next eight or nine games. Nobody wants to get their salary slashed and I don't want to have to trim a squad."
(This newspaper article featured in the Daily Record on 2nd April 2011)
McGregor admits his team mates have embraced the new club shrink, known only as Steven, and insists they're happy to let him into their heads. He said, "Everton boss Davie Moyes is a big believer in it and he's a Premiership manager. I'm open to new things and believe if it's going to help you I'm willing to take it on board. I've spoken to the psychologist a few times, It's not just football we spoke about, it's everything. He's a good guy to speak to and gets things off your chest. He's skilled in what he does and can break it down for you. He spoke to us as a group and has given us a team dynamic."
Lennon is confident his players have what it takes to stay up this term because he believes the possibility of relegation doesn't bear thinking about. The Buddies boss said, "The players have had time to get their heads right. There are a lot of boys out of contract and they have to keep a roof over their heads. That should be their motivation over the next eight or nine games. Nobody wants to get their salary slashed and I don't want to have to trim a squad."
(This newspaper article featured in the Daily Record on 2nd April 2011)