My sleepless nights over Hull clash
IS it just me, or has anyone else been having sleepless nights over tomorrow's clash?
The wife-to-be can't understand why a grown man should be kept awake at night because of a game.
But then again, she is also non-plussed about why I shout at the highlights on Match Of The Day when I know what's going to happen because I've been at the game earlier that day.
Maybe I do over-react, but that's only because it matters, and I know I'm not alone in taking results to heart.
I've said before that if results hurt players as much as they do supporters then we probably wouldn't be in a mess.
I'm not saying that they go out to lose - I don't think that for a second. But far too often this season they seem to have settled for second-best as just another bad day at the office.
That wasn't the case last weekend against Manchester United.
We may have still lost, but we went down fighting, and while that won't be acceptable against Hull, it was enough to give us a glimmer of hope.
To make sure that hope isn't snuffed out, we have to deliver three points from our clash with the Tigers.
To state the bleeding obvious, it's a game for big hearts and even bigger performances.
For me, Phil Bardsley epitomised everything that was right about our performance against the Red Devils.
He gave everything he had, and at times put his body on the line to keep United at bay.
Thankfully, he wasn't alone, and that's the way it's got to be again this weekend.
It seems to be fairly easy for teams to raise their games when the big boys come to town.
But it's not about that for sides in our position, it never has been for us.
The be-all and end-all for us is beating the teams around us.
We haven't done that anywhere near enough this term, and that, to put things quite simply, is why we find ourselves in this dreadful situation.
Still, it's easy to keep harping on about where we have gone wrong. Far more difficult is putting it right.
Hopefully, we will get behind the team from now until the end of the season and play our part – I really believe the atmosphere at the Stadium of Light last weekend was a major plus.
But while we can sing our hearts out for the lads, only they can bring home the bacon when it comes to a vital victory.
And that is the least they owe their loyal fans this weekend.
Should they deliver tomorrow then they will deserve all the plaudits that come their way, and no one will be shouting them louder than me.
And maybe I can sleep a little bit better – at least until the next game anyway, another massive clash away to West Bromwich Albion.
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Weather for South Shields
Friday 10 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: -3 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 1 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: South west
