BAIRNS IN RIGHT FRAME OF MIND

IT would have been easy to snigger. To dismiss suggestions of ‘mindfulness’ training as a bunch of nonsense with no place in football. Ask key figures in and around a Falkirk team currently winning plaudits for their warrior spirit and unbreakable resilience, however, and they will testify to the wisdom of occasionally embracing something out of the ordinary. Club captain David McCracken is adamant that occasionally emotional sessions led by ‘mindfulness mentor’ Connie McLaughlin are at least partly responsible for the way these Bairns keep bouncing back to score last-gasp winners. They have certainly helped a core group of the Falkirk team create a closer bond. ‘Boys now appreciate other players’ situations,’ said the skipper of the team who have just sucker-punched Hibs and — albeit only at half-time in their tie — Kilmarnock in successive play-off ties. ‘It’s not just a case of coming in, being a footballer and, if you’re moaning during training, you’re a d**k. ‘It’s seeing that other side to a person, somebody realising there might be stuff going on outside of football. ‘It might be a family affair or something financial. There are all these pressures. ‘Sometimes there is too much bravado to talk about that side of it — you need to be strong to handle that pressure. But sometimes people can’t do that — so you need somebody there to recognise that. ‘The mindfulness sessions open up your mind to the possibilities of what’s out there. It has had a huge bearing on some of the boys in the group who have been to the sessions. It has definitely showed in performances.’ McCracken, who had done what he describes as ‘personal development stuff’ earlier in his career, was always going to be receptive when manager Peter Houston asked him about bringing broadcast journalist McLaughlin into a relatively macho environment. ‘We started with a large squad but, after six or seven weeks, some didn’t feel ready and dropped out,’ he said. ‘But we found a core group who stuck with it. And it definitely helps us. ‘There have been games where we’ve been behind in the last minute but, no matter the situation, we have that belief it’s not over until the final whistle sounds.’