The Stephen Hunt Sunday Independent column is always one of the most enjoyable parts of a Sunday. Hunt's column is generally well worth a read and this week it is no different.
The former Republic of Ireland international is discussing how a team might break out of a particularly bad losing streak and uses as his reference point his playing days at Brentford under Martin 'Mad Dog' Allen ("a bit of a lunatic") and a particularly idiosyncratic method Allen used to try and break his side out of a losing streak during the 2003-04 season:
We'd driven over 250 miles to Hartlepool and, when we got there, he called us together to go down to a local field. Now, I'm not talking about a football field, this was a field for cows, where we were doing stretches and a few set-pieces, whatever.
There was a dirty river at the end of the field and it was absolutely disgusting-looking - as well as very cold. So, Allen pulls us over and goes "if you're going to swim it, swim it" - as if to say, "if you're going to win it, win it; if you're going to do it, do it".
Then, he just strips off, jumps in and swims it, gets out on the other side in his soaking boxers and then runs about 200 metres in the Baltic cold.
Allen's crazy methods worked, Hunt says:
We ended up talking about him rather than the desperate need to get three points. The 'normality' of losing had been broken, and we went out the next day and won 2-1.
Great insight as ever from Hunt. You can read his full column in the 'Sindo' here. He gives fascinating insight into what it is like to work at a club that is really struggling, and reveals the techniques various managers he worked under used to try and ease players out of a slump.
