'KEEP RIGHT ON TO THE END OF THE ROAD' - Easier said than done!

Why it’s easier said than done for Norwich City to

 ‘KEEP RIGHT ON TO THE END OF THE ROAD’

After a narrow 1-0 away defeat at Newcastle there seems to be some dispute amongst Norwich City fans as to how they should feel.

On the one hand there are those who constantly echo the manager’s perfectly sensible calls to ‘remember where we came from’, to be grateful for what has been achieved in such a short time and to settle happily for the fact that we are almost certainly going to be playing Premier League football in 2012-13.

On the other there are those who are not happy that the season seems to be petering out into something of an anti-climax. Dreams of an assault on the top six or seven places of the table have faded, a possible FA Cup challenge has been surrendered and there seems little to play for as the Spring sunshine beckons. Supporters who have paid for their season tickets want to see their team competing with the same determination and drive in the last few games of the campaign as they witnessed back in August and September; they are not content, then, just to indulge in a bit of collective self-congratulation and forget about achievement till next season. They believe that Norwich should, as Birmingham City fans always urge their side, ‘Keep Right On To The End Of The Road’.

To any reasonable supporter the views of members of both camps have their respective good points. I suspect, though, that those in the latter camp have not been very much involved in serious sport themselves. I cannot claim to have played league football but as a sports psychologist who has played at non-league standard and having played and coached cricket to a very high level I do reckon to have some understanding of the factors governing performance levels.

I have seen and experienced first-hand the sometimes remarkable effect on performance of true motivation. Players of limited ability are capable of extraordinary levels of achievement when the right combination of motivational factors comes together; these might involve personal goals as well as team targets. For example batsmen with whom I have worked have set themselves realistic but seriously challenging targets in terms of runs and played far in excess of their previous performance to achieve them. I have also known bowlers who have been given a target number of wickets to take in a given period and consistently delivered levels of achievement way beyond their previous form in order to reach their goals.

The same players can easily then, having achieved their targets, allow their levels of performance to slip back to previous standards. This is not deliberate. They do not say to themselves ‘OK, job done. Time to relax.’ What happens is that the desire and drive which has occupied their every waking thought for a given period is no longer there when the goal has been reached. They do not stop trying. Indeed they might start trying too hard, like Fernando Torres appears to have done in recent weeks, and perhaps lose focus on just those aspects of their game which have brought them success.

Throw into this mix the team ethic and the picture becomes even more complicated. A team target can be an incredibly powerful motivational tool for a coach to use. Imagine a football team which has been set a goal of achieving twenty points by a certain stage in the season. As each game goes by, as each point is gained, the collective drive gains momentum and players feed off one another’s energy and determination.

There will always be setbacks, the batsman who fails a couple of times, the wicketless day for the bowler or the odd ‘off day’ for the football team, but as long as that initial target remains (provided, of course, that despite being challenging it was realistic in the first place) there exists that overriding desire to train, to perform, to push. Each day of practice or training, each time the player turns down a drink or maybe a dessert, each early night, has a purpose.

Now I have no idea what particular goals Paul Lambert set his players this season. Obviously they began the Premier League campaign with the mythical 40 point survival target but beyond that only those in the dressing room will really be aware of how that was supposed to be achieved. Whether certain players or the team were set targets regarding numbers of goals, tackles, headers or even pass completion percentages only they will know.

What I think we are all aware of, however, is that it became clear some time ago that barring an absolute catastrophe Premier League status for next season –the number one team target- was all but secure. The weaknesses of the teams at the foot of the table suggest that fewer than 40 points will do the job this time around.

Thus the Holy Grail for any promoted club, the single most compelling reason for a Norwich City player to go to work since promotion was achieved at Fratton Park back in May was all but secured several weeks ago. Admittedly it was not (and still is not) mathematically guaranteed, and the manager has repeatedly been at pains to point this out, but we fans all know the effect this has had on our own thinking let alone that of the players. If we stopped worrying about relegation at the end of January then they must have, too.

I stress again that it is not my belief that they have stopped trying. I am not suggesting that they have slacked off in training or deliberately started to pay less attention to their diets and fitness regimes. Indeed, with a conscientious and ambitious manager like Lambert I am certain that this would not be permitted. As I suggested earlier the players might even have been telling themselves repeatedly just how important it is not to lose focus.

But whether publicly acknowledged or not the main team target has ceased to be as powerful a collective motivational factor as it had been previously and I believe this might explain the side’s recent performances. They have not played particularly badly at all; at times, for example in the second half at Newcastle, they have been excellent, but somehow there has been a missing five per cent. That little bit extra, that vital factor x, has not been produced and performance levels have dipped just slightly below those of previous months.

I suspect the season still holds a few twists, though. Perhaps the galvanising challenge of beating Manchester City or Liverpool will rekindle previous ambition and there are just one or two more heroic outings yet for Holty and the boys before the whole thing begins again next August!