Highland head coach Davie Carson hopes recent sport psychology sessions can help his players return to winning ways, starting with tomorrow’s National 3 trip to Perthshire.
The Inverness men ended 2016 in disappointment with a 28-24 defeat by Haddington at Canal Park on December 17 – their first home loss since March 2013.
Carson feels his players had been below-par in the lead up to the three-week festive break and hopes honing their mental approach can help them hold out for more points.
He said: “We had three or four sessions over Christmas and we’ve done some psychological work as well. The guys had an hour-and-a-half with our coach Jas Hepburn between Christmas and new year.
“He does the warm-up and the stretching routines but he’s very good at the mental side of things, too. He put on a session about helping them deal with the pressure that will be coming on them.
“We’ve lost or drawn quite a few games with our showing in the last 10 minutes. It’s a big learning curve for the boys. They need to be a lot smarter in that situation.”
Highland are third, just three points behind leaders Dumfries Saints. Although Carson knows encounters against promotion rivals will be key, he is taking nothing for granted against 10th-placed Perthshire.
He added: “The top four are all in the same boat. It will to and fro over the next few weeks but nothing is going to be decided for a while.
“We all still have to play each other as well.
“Glasgow Accies struggled to get a win against Perthshire recently when everyone thought they would win comfortably. The pitches can be a great leveller at this time of year, compared to the early games when they are still in nice condition.”
Highland are without injured skipper Andrew Findlater but Stuart MacDonald is nearing a comeback from a broken leg and could feature for Highland’s 2nd XV against Lossiemouth tomorrow.
