Confidence & Belief

Footballers are human beings. They like to be loved, just as we all do. I’m sure they love hearing their name sung; they love getting plaudits and applause. If they’ve got supporters on their backs, they can’t thrive. When you’ve won five of your last six matches, you’re bound to be full of confidence every time you step out onto the pitch. I think that’s why teams find form – they get in the habit of winning and scoring goals. That’s partly where we are now.

This section also incorporates how Michael Skubala and the coaching team motivate the players and get the best out of them. Reeco has five goal involvements in as many matches, and yet Portsmouth were happy to sell him to us for £40,000. Imagine a player like Reeco Hackett coming to us for £40,000. When he moved here, Pompey fans said he couldn’t play wing back, and yet he’s excelling there for us. Why is one team’s trash another team’s treasure? It’s how a player feels at the club, what the atmosphere is like and how they’re treated.

It’s also about us getting the best out of players right now. Look at Ted Bishop – play him in his correct position, and what do you get? Top-notch performances, week in, week out. Set the players up right, give them clear instructions, and they’ll thrive. Look at Sean Roughan – he couldn’t get a kick under MA. He played well under MK but made a few silly errors. Under MS, he’s been almost faultless, in my opinion.

This looks like a squad playing for the manager, committed and talented. Paul Hurst even said something to that effect in his post-match interview about us showing desire even at 3-0 up. That’s a cultural thing, without a doubt. It’s driven by confidence and belief, not just in the players, but also being given to them by the coaching staff. It feels like MS believes in his players and is confident of them doing what he asks. i do wonder if one or two who left in the winter window didn’t have that.