EX-PLAYER: MICHAEL GRAY

WHEN the Stadium of Light is rocking and the team is winning, there’s no better place to play.

But go on a losing streak and confidence ebbs away and your energy feels sapped.

It can be the best place in the world or the worst.

And at the moment, on this unthinkable run, it probably feels like the worst for the players.

No player wants a record like that – a year in your home stadium without winning.

It is a place you should enjoy playing in front of your own supporters.

It certainly was when I played for Peter Reid in front of deafening crowds and rising as high as second in the Premier League. Everyone hated coming to play us.

At our best under Reidy, the crowd and stadium energised us. You think you are giving 100 per cent, but when you are flying in front of home fans it gives you another 10 or 15 per cent.

You think you are at your physical maximum, then you find some more because of the noise.

You feel as tall as a building. You can’t wait for the next game. That is the feeling. Electric.

Walking off the pitch when you’ve won a match, you feel like a giant. Invincible. They need that feeling back. But I’ve also known the other side, losing and relegation. The energy draining out, the confidence going. It is the flip side of the coin.

Supporters come to watch you win and perform. When it isn’t going well, they feel bad. They have the right to speak.

You can sense that now – confidence and energy sapping away when they go behind and it is a horrible feeling.

The year-long run is on a player’s mind, no matter what they may say. People are talking about it everywhere. You are part of it and you don’t want it around you.

What can be changed? People talk about moving fans closer to the pitch so there aren’t so many empty seats or changing the music. That’s just fiddling.

Only the players can turn it around. They have to use the positive energy from walking out to get it going. Get on a roll and feed off it.

Chris Coleman will be saying these things to the players just like David Moyes and Simon Grayson did. They have to be brave, take it on the chin and every game is a fresh start. This won’t last forever.

Why not today? Change it, put it right. Show confidence. Give it everything and you’ll be surprised at what might happen.

Only the players can turn it around