Ali Crawford turned to a mind guru as a Bolton Wanderers nightmare unfolded.
And now the midfielder who was frozen out in Lancashire is hoping that St Johnstone reap the benefits of his rediscovered positivity.
The former Accies man was back on familiar turf at the weekend after a spell in England that saw him play for three clubs in as many seasons was brought to a conclusion with a loan to Perth.
And he revealed that a ‘mindset coach’, who has worked with the likes of John Souttar and Greg Docherty, has got him ready to hit the ground running at McDiarmid Park.
“It’s good to be home so to speak,” said Crawford, who started Saints’ 2-1 defeat to Rangers on Saturday.
“I’ve been down south for three or four years and this felt like the right time to come back up.
“I’ve done well in Scotland in the past and hopefully I can replicate that here.
“It’s been a tough six months for me. I’ve not really played much.
“It was great to be back on the pitch. Hopefully as my sharpness comes back I’ll be able to help St Johnstone more and more by creating and scoring goals.
“I’ve been keeping myself ticking over and waiting for an opportunity like this to come along.”
Fit but not playing
Crawford added: “I’ve been fit for the last year.
“Bolton had a tough start last season and I was kind of the fall guy at Christmas. I got shipped out to Tranmere on loan and that didn’t really work out.
“I just had to make sure I kept my head in a good place for my next opportunity.
“It was the first time in my career I’d gone through this and I did speak to somebody.
“John Johnstone is his name.
“He’s a mindset coach. I don’t think he played football at a high level but it’s an area he’s specialised in.
“To deal with it was new to me. It was good to get the benefit of the experience of somebody who works in that field.
“When you’re not playing, you’re doubting yourself.
“You think it’s yourself who is the problem.
“It’s much more common in the game now.
“People are coming out with mental health issues and stuff like that.
“It’s always good to get things off your chest and speak to somebody.
“It’s certainly helped me.”
Talent intact
Crawford knows most of the St Johnstone players from his time with Accies and he also knows the club’s reputation of kick-starting careers.
Delighted to get this done, can’t wait to get started 💪 massive thanks @BPWIM https://t.co/KQJw6uJPxT
— Ali Crawford (@AliCrawford) August 31, 2021
“Absolutely,” he said. “I think I’ve still got a good five or six years left in me. The talent will always be there.
“It’s about me producing that week in, week out.
“It was important that I made the right move.
“I spoke to the manager a few days before I signed. He talked me through the way they play and how he saw me fitting into that.
“It sounded really good to me.”
