The Sports Psychology Blog
This Sports Psychology blog comes as Liam Lawrence is named Championship player of the month for February.
Football: Liam Lawrence - The Lottery
''To now miss out on automatic promotion would be a huge disappointment. We've worked so hard to get into this position. The play-offs is a lottery so now we need to focus on getting that top-two finish." The words of Stoke City striker Liam Lawrence. Understandable sentiments. Automatic promotion has to be the aim of the Potters right now. But Liam Lawrence's thoughts are revealing. 'The play-off's are a lottery'.
It's an expression we hear a lot at this time of the season. But what does it mean? It suggests that form goes out of the window. That anyone of the four play-off contenders can win the big prize. That, fundamentally, it is all in the lap of the football gods.
But is it? What if you didn't think of it as a lottery. That you welcomed the cut and thrust of the play-offs. The possibility of promotion on a euphoric Wembley afternoon. No lottery. But won by the best prepared team. The team who hit the play-offs in the right frame of mind. High on confidence. Ready for the three high intensity matches.
It maybe that Stoke City do miss out on automatic promotion. If they do, lets hope they enter the play-offs with a more appropriate mind-set. It would be folly to throw away a seasons hard work because of fixed thinking.
