Hatters skipper highlights the 'incredible' role that sports psychology played ahead of Rovers win

Luton skipper Kal Naismith has been highlighting what he felt was the absolutely massive role that sports psychology played ahead of their 1-0 victory over Doncaster Rovers on Saturday.

Following a bitterly disappointing 3-1 loss at Lincoln City the previous weekend, it meant the Town squad turned up at their Brache training ground on Monday, with confidence at an alarming low due to their second successive defeat, the players knowing full well themselves that the display they had delivered at the LNER Stadium was simply nowhere near good enough or acceptable for a team looking to win promotion back to the Championship this term.

Step forward a member of Town’s backroom staff though, with sports psychologist Nicola McCalliog, a co-founder of sport psychology coaching platform PlayerCoach360, invited by manager Matt Bloomfield to deliver a session to the players on Monday, which was something that clearly resonated with Naismith and his team-mates, as the skipper revealed how important it proved in getting getting them in the right headspace to go again, and produce a performance against a good Rovers side that, although not perfect, was far, far better, and allowed them to pick up a crucial three points in front of their own supporters at Kenilworth Road.

Speaking about the role McCalliog had in that, he said: “I didn’t know how important it was until Monday, she was incredible, so, so incredible, I can’t credit her enough. We’re lucky to have her here, we’re lucky she’s a part of our team and she’s a huge part. She had a huge effect on us through the week as we came here on Monday, and she came down and she spoke to us and it was incredible. It takes a lot to have a full changing room just sit and hang on your every word, it was like wow, and then it was just goosebumps listening to her speaking.

"She shared her story that we need to be open and honest and in it together and there for each other, just the stuff she touched on was incredible. We’d already had meetings before that, but it was right, we’re in the right place, the manager had spoken to us and she spoke to us and we just felt something. Everything’s feeling in life isn’t it? You can say words all you want, I can shout and rant in the changing room, it doesn’t really matter, it’s how you make people feel. If you feel together, if you feel that and we just felt that as the week went on. She’s an incredible lady, we’re just lucky that she’s a part of our team as she’s amazing, so massive credit to her for what she did this week as well.

“It’s not like a thing that we’ve just done though, we’re in a bad place, let’s do it, Nicola has been here since the beginning of the season. She’s just a part of the team and a load of clubs have it, it’s very popular now to have sports psychologists hang about the building and they help and they have a little bit of input here and there. We had someone at the club last year when I was here, so it is popular. I’ve never used one personally myself and I’ve never understood how powerful they can be and how big an impact they have until Nicola on Monday. We’re lucky to have her here.”

Having cut an incredibly disconsolate figure when addressing the press during his post match interview in Lincoln, then boss Bloomfield knew he faced a huge week in training to get his side to show just how much they care about the club, an aspect he felt was worryingly absent during their debacle against the Imps.

The manager also pointed to the impact of McCalliog for aiding with that turnaround, as asked just what it was in the past few days that had stuck out for him, and enabled the players to perform on the pitch, he continued: “I think there’s been a few things, it’s never just one moment, but we had a sports psychologist working with us now who gave a very good talk to the boys on Monday.

"We spoke a lot over the weekend about what I felt we needed to be and Nicola could contribute to that in a big way on Monday. We then went about our work, we’ve given the boys so much information Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, in terms of how we wanted the team to look and feel, and the boys have got together amongst themselves as well.

“There’s been a lot of contributing factors to that, we do have a group that cares and last week it didn’t look like that, and that was the concerning thing. The disappointing thing, the sad thing for all of us, was that it didn’t look like they care in the way that they do if that makes sense. The reflection of them as a group and us as a group as a whole, wasn’t there so there’s been lots of work that’s gone into that this week.

"They’re a group I think a lot of and they know that. We have to stick together in tough moments and it’s not the challenges that face you, it’s the way you react to them that defines you as a man. We spoke about that a lot this week and I could just feel there was going to be a reaction. I felt quite calm in the build-up to the game because I felt like the boys were in a good head space, so we have to grow that now.”

There was also one other piece of inspiration for Naismith, who scored the only goal of the game with a close range header just before half time, as during the build-up to the contest, he was involved in the club’s special commemorative picture that took place at the ground celebrating the Hatters’ 140th anniversary.

It also proved to help stoke his passion ahead of the fixture too, as he added: “The photo for me, we did the 140 and just looking about and seeing the amount of staff and the people that love this club, it was like wow, this is an unbelievable club. I’ve said it a million times, I love being here, we’re grateful to be here, I know we’re under a bit of pressure right now, but what is that? That’s fine, let’s go, so I just couldn’t wait. From Tuesday, I just could not wait to get to the game.”