Midfielder Flynn Downes has revealed he struggled with the pressure of professional football as he broke into the first-team picture and sought the help of a psychologist.
"There is a lot of pressure in the game and when I was younger I just didn’t know how to handle it. It came out of nowhere, the pressure, and it affected me big time,” Downes said in an interview in tonight’s match programme in which he talks about that pressure, self-doubt and the perils of social media.
"I’m the sort of person who didn’t want anyone else to have my problems. I thought to myself ‘I’ll just smile and deal with it myself’ but I got to the point that I felt I needed to talk to someone and get stuff off my chest.
"I started seeing a psychologist called Alex a couple of times a week and she was great for me.
"The first time I spoke to her she said it will be a two-hour session. I can remember thinking ‘Two hours, I won’t be able to talk for two hours’.
"It went by in 10 minutes. I couldn’t believe it. I came out and felt so much better about myself. It was unbelievable. Now I'm in a much better place and feel and I can deal with anything.”
Downes, 20, has started all three of Town’s League One games so far this season and also came on as a sub in the Carabao Cup tie at Luton, his former loan club.