PILLOW TALK
Rotherham’s ‘sleep geek’ encourages stars to take their partner’s perfume to away games and has Millers gaffer Warne jumping out of bed in the morning!
MAINTAINING their status in the Championship would put Rotherham United boss Paul Warne in dreamland – and quick to acknowledge the contribution of the club’s ‘sleep guru’.
It’s why players have been spotted with bottles of their partner’s favourite perfume on away trips – or smuggling a pillow into their overnight bag.
Sleep expert James Wilson, an integral part of the Millers backroom staff, has also worked with Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder (below) and the Cowley brothers, Nicky and Danny, when they were in charge at Lincoln City.
Wilson revealed: “At first players would look at me sceptically, wondering what it was all about.
“They would see it as a weakness, admitting their difficulty in sleeping. They were scared it might lead to them being left out of the team.
“So at the training ground I would have lunch with them so they began to know who I was and that I was there to help. I would stand on the edge of the pitch and as they came off I would ask them how had they slept.”
Wilson, who himself suffered from a lack of regular sleep when he was an apprentice at the club, quickly discovered a number of players had issues.
“We had a player this season whose partner had a baby and his ability to perform was massively impacted,” said Wilson, who has been dubbed the ‘sleep geek’.
“I introduced him to an expert in that field, and in time this player’s performances improved significantly.
“It’s about supporting families as well as the players themselves. Good sleep comes from being physically and emotionally secure.
“Anything that impacts on their family’s sleep will affect the player. I work with the whole club, lots of staff not directly related to the playing side – the cook, for instance.
“Because if the whole club is sleeping better we’ve got more chance of succeeding.”
With that in mind, away games are a source of concern with players traditionally finding it harder to enjoy a good night’s rest in a different environment.
Wilson said: “We’ve tried to work on how to make them more relaxed on away trips. That has included taking their pillows from home, and taking the partner’s perfume with them. They won’t admit to it... but most of them now do it!
“It’s about trying to replicate their home comforts and being at ease.
“Right now – with games coming thick and fast, and less recovery time – getting a good night’s sleep carries even more importance.
“I can also call on a sleep posture specialist.
“A lot of footballers sleep on their fronts. That puts a lot of pressure on the neck, shoulders and lower back.
“So we bodymapped the Rotherham players on a system which looks at pressure points. We got advice on how to sleep on your back or side instead.
“Paul Warne did a video. The gaffer had always slept on his front and it was taking him 20 minutes to get out of bed in the morning because of how stiff he was.
“But getting him to sleep on his side most of the time has made a real difference.
“He feels a lot looser in the mornings, more alert.”
Too often players take sleeping pills to try and arrest their lack of a good eight hours’ shut-eye.
Wilson warned: “That can be a dangerous road in terms of possible addiction and your long-term physical health.
“And it doesn’t give you quality sleep. The lockdown situation has exacerbated the problem – ‘I must get more sleep’. It’s desperation.”
But not at the New York Stadium.
“Rotherham have a unique approach to the wellbeing of their players,” added Wilson.
“They haven’t got the biggest budget in the world so they will try things which give me a bit of leeway. Paul Warne is all for it.
“I’ve worked at Lincoln with the Cowley brothers and they went from League Two to League One – and with Sheffield United the season they got into the Premier League. It’s a good record but it’s because the people I worked with are good at what they do.
“They acknowledge the kind of impact you can have on their teams.”
ISAAC HAYDEN has demanded Newcastle keep cool heads as they fight back from Matt Ritchie’s bust-up with Steve Bruce.
Newcastle midfielder Hayden says the players are well aware of the situation they are in – three points above third-bottom Fulham and on a run of two wins in 17 games.
Bruce has patched up a training-ground row with midfielder Ritchie this week and is refusing to give up on his at St James’ Park reign, despite widespread opposition from fans.
Hayden said: “This is our time now. We’re not going to be judged by our formation against Manchester United or Chelsea, we’re going to be judged by West Brom, Aston Villa and Brighton. Those next games are crucial.
“The problem I have with it is that people go, ‘Oh, there’s no realism’. But what do you want people to do? Do you want everyone to panic? Be like, ‘Oh, God we’re in a relegation battle’.
“That’s not going to solve anything, either.
“But what’s also not going to solve anything is just saying, ‘No, we’re fine’. It’s about being calm and level-headed, not too happy and not too low. It is about being stable and focused and believing in yourself.
“The way you go about it is to ask, ‘Would Fulham rather be in
LIKELY TEAMS WEST BROM: our position or in their position?’ – we’ve got three points more than them.
“Would they rather be chasing us or would they rather be us, with a gap? They’d rather be us.
“They have to win games just to catch us. We have to win games to be safe.”
Striker Andy Carroll has demanded a recall from Bruce to step in for injured top trio Callum Wilson, Miguel Almiron and Allan Saint-Maximin.
The former Liverpool and West Ham star wants to add his muscle to the fight and said: “The lads had a chat after the Wolves game. We have to stick together and that is what we are doing.
“It is massive this weekend. Every game is a cup final and getting harder. We are not producing the results we want and we need three points.
“Sam Allardyce will have West Brom organised and know what they are doing on set-pieces and tactics and have their ideas. We have to stop that.
“If my chance comes, I will take it and get on the score sheet. We played well against Wolves and Manchester United. We have created chances, but not converted them.”
Ex-Toon boss Allardyce endured unpopularity on the terraces on Tyneside like his mate Bruce, who said: “We’ve been in it a long time. I have huge respect for what Sam has done.”
SCOTT PARKER reckons only a big loan injection has given his side a fighting chance in a tough season.
Fulham head to Anfield this afternoon with their Premier League survival hopes still very much alive thanks to a crack contingent of Craven Cottage loan stars.
Fulham chief Parker fielded all of his ‘magnificent seven’ loanees in the midweek defeat by Tottenham – as the relegation-threatened hosts came within a disputed handball decision of grabbing a crucial point.
Parker signed Alphonse Areola, Joachim Andersen, Ola Aina, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mario Lemina and Ademola Lookman during the close season, and added Josh Maja from Bordeaux in January.
The Fulham boss admitted: “It would have been difficult for us without the loans.
“We made a decision to try and stay in the division this year without over-expenditure.
“We’ve not spent a lot of money. The likes of Tosin Adarabioyo and Antonee Robinson, a couple of million, Kenny Tete as well – so we decided to get some quality players in on loan.
“They have all done fantastically well. That’s really been a deciding factor.”
There has been talk of scrapping the loans system – but those who are against such a move claim that if used correctly it can benefit all parties.
Parker would surely agree. He insists that given the position his club was in after earning promotion via the Championship play-offs, loans came to the rescue.
He said: “It definitely helps you to bridge that gap.
“We were a team who finished fourth in the Championship, stepping into the Premier League, so it’s huge.
“We were stepping into a league where clubs have the finances.
“They’ve been around it for a long time and they have had that money coming in for a long period.
“So certainly for a team like ourselves, only the loan system gives you a chance of being competitive.
“I think we have used it pretty well.
“In terms of giving us hope, and a chance of staying in this division, it’s been a big help.”
Fulham go to Liverpool today just three months after nearly causing an upset in the reverse fixture.
Liverpool needed a late Mo Salah penalty to cancel out Bobby De Cordova-Reid’s opener at the Cottage.
After losing five home league games in succession for the first time in the club’s history, there’s no question that Liverpool are wobbling.
But Parker is convinced that there are several factors in play behind the fluctuating fortunes of Jurgen Klopp’s side in the season they are defending the Reds’ first league title in 30 years.
He added: “I think this is an unprecedented season. It’s had a big effect on Liverpool, especially with the standards they have set for themselves.
“We played very well against them in December. We caused them problems.
“But the main factor at play is the same reason everyone’s struggling – it’s injuries.
“There are a lot o f things Jurgen and his staff could look at – not making excuses – and say why that might have been a problem for them.”
JURGEN KLOPP believes Liverpool’s American owners have got his back.
Boston-based Fenway Sports Group have remained silent while the Kop’s bid to retain the title has disintegrated on the back of a run which has seen the Reds lose five home games for the first time in their history.
Klopp himself admits the experience has been worse than his last year in charge of Borussia Dortmund – when he quit the Bundesliga club towards the end of a season when they finished seventh.
But he insists that there has been no suggestion from FSG he will lose his job if he fails to save Liverpool’s season from total failure.
Klopp said: “We cannot do other than our best – and that’s how it always is.
“And if there is somebody who thinks there is another one (manager) who can do better, then they have to make the decision.
That is clear.
“I don’t think that’s the case.
Not that nobody else can do it better, but because I don’t think any of the directors have that opinion – at least nobody told me.
“When we win football games we are not constantly partying and if we lose we are not punching each other’s face. It is somewhere in between.”
Klopp added: “I had a situation at Dortmund after a very successful spell.
“At Dortmund, it was not even half as bad from an injury point of view as it is here. We had much fewer points after the first part of the season. “The difference was that we had injuries in the first part of the season and in the second part they all came back.
“We had a winter break and I knew that all the players would be back, so it was a completely different situation because pretty much nobody comes back here.
“So you can’t compare it.”
Liverpool face a huge fight to finish in the top four – beginning with today’s clash with relegation-threatened Fulham at Anfield.
On Wednesday they travel to Budapest to face Julian Nagelsmann’s RB Leipzig in the Champions League holding a 2-0 first-leg lead from their first clash in the Hungarian capital.
Klopp is taking nothing for granted in his side’s bid to reach the quarterfinals.
And he insists it cannot enter his thinking to sacrifice Premier League games to give his team a better chance of winning the European crown to once again qualify for the money-spinning tournament.
Klopp said: “We are playing Fulham on Sunday and three days later we play Leipzig – and we are not yet in the next round.
“I cannot think about winning the Champions League because we have to go through difficult rounds – including this one.
“We are not giving up on the Premier League – and that will never happen.
“There is no game we can play and lose and people say ‘look at that line-up, Liverpool are not interested’ because we are not really playing any game behind closed doors because there are always cameras.
“We feel the responsibility that in every game we have to give absolutely everything to win it. When it doesn’t happen, it is not enough. But that doesn’t change our attitude.”