Soccer

Newry City keen for people to "Keep Your Head Up' during lockdown

Newry City manager Darren Mullen is trying to keep the football community connected with their latest mental health awareness campaign
Newry City manager Darren Mullen is trying to keep the football community connected with their latest mental health awareness campaign Newry City manager Darren Mullen is trying to keep the football community connected with their latest mental health awareness campaign

DARREN Mullen has allowed himself to imagine what the first training session will be like with his players and staff and the first game they’ll play after the worst excesses of the pandemic have passed – but the Newry City manager is still keen for the club’s players, supporters and football community to ‘mind their heads’.

After their hugely successful keepy-uppy social media challenge, the Co Down club has come up with a novel ‘Keep Your Head Up’ mental health awareness campaign to keep people connected to one another via social during the lockdown.

Well-known faces from the soccer, GAA, rugby and boxing world, including Oisin McConville, Kevin McKernan, John Cooney and Paddy Barnes, have embraced the headers challenge.

Even though there have been no matches or training sessions from early March, Mullen feels his responsibility to his players and indeed club members and fans has increased over the last seven weeks.

“I don’t think we should ever under-estimate the power of connection and belonging to something,” said Mullen.

“Playing for a team, you have that camaraderie, you are part of that group. Before the pandemic, the Newry players were coming down to training to have a bit of banter before they went out on the pitch.

“When you take that away to the extent that is happening at the minute, that’s a huge void. And I can see that in players. And even, personally, I miss it: the craic with the rest of the coaches and players and that’s why it’s important to keep in touch in some manner.

“I rang all the players individually over the last couple of weeks to see how they’re all getting on, how they’re getting on with their families. And I rang some of the people around the club to see how they’re getting on because you do have that connection with them.

“The majority would be fine and some of them could be struggling because everyone is in a different environment. I think everyone realises the important role sport does play in our lives. And when you speak to the fans of the club they really are missing it and everything that comes with it.”

The current ‘Keep Your Head Up’ challenge has really taken off, with Mullen explaining: “We set up a Newry City fitness WhatsApp group and we put into the group different challenges for the players, different types of runs, different times and we have league tables and prizes for weekly winners.

“Last weekend we had a keepy-uppy challenge – keep the ball up for 150 times – which is really to keep them together, keep them active.”

Newry City are currently sitting mid-table of the Championship with no date set for a return to the field even though the GAA is making noises about trying to find their own pathway back to competitive action.

“Nobody knows when we’re going to be back but I think you have to have some goal in your mind of that first training session,” Mullen acknowledged.

“We’ll probably spend most of it in the changing rooms carrying on. The first game, I’d say, may feel like a pre-season friendly because people will be glad just to be back playing football."

He added: “You can watch too much news and it would suck the life out of you – and it is terrible but at the same time you need to get your head away from it too.

“And if you set a few challenges for people it’s just that bit of escapism.

“The one thing you’d like to think that will come out of this is people will appreciate what’s important in their lives and enjoy their lives a lot more.

“I would fall into that trap as well, there’s not enough time in the day and you’re running around chasing your tail. And this here, if nothing else, has made us realise that we should be spending more time with our families, we should be enjoying our lives a wee bit more. This is a big wake-up call for everybody.”

With so many parts of society expected to re-open on a gradual basis over the coming weeks, team sport appears to be well down on the list of seeing a return to some type of normality.

Many football WhatsApp groups have probably fallen silent in recent times – and Newry City’s is no different.

“I was speaking to one or two of the senior players and they’d said the WhatsApp group had gone a bit quiet. The boys are obviously missing their football and they need that connection. I put in tasks at the start of the week for Tuesday and Thursday and they send their results in. It’s a bit of fun and it keeps them active. There are players who enjoy that structure, whether they enjoy the actual running is another thing, but I think they enjoy being part of something.

“I think you have a responsibility to keep everybody motivated and to keep them upbeat because it is difficult. Everyone’s got their own challenges. I live with five women – and that’s not easy!

“Some people would be active on WhatsApp and others might be a bit quieter, so it’s good to maybe talk to them privately to see how they’re doing. They don’t need to put loads of jokes into the WhatsApp group; it’s just making sure that you’re aware of everybody in the group.”

The highlight of the ‘Keep Your Head Up’ challenge so far has been former professional boxer Paddy Barnes who almost fell over his daughter’s scooter while trying to juggle the ball with his head.