SoccerBelieve and you shall receive

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Easy enough - when you’ve won countless tournaments worldwide and were Europe’s No. 1 golfer seven years in a row. Not so easy if you’re an emotional wreck while addressing the ball, wondering what catastrophe awaits your next swing of the club.

Monty, smiling the smile of a multi-millionaire who gets to play golf for a living, went on to inform me the pre-shot mental “swing thoughts” should be brief and positive - a maximum of two - such as ‘trust your swing’ and ‘commit to the shot.’ Don’t over-think the stroke, he warned.

Typically, my “swing thoughts” revolve around such subjects as water, sand, trees, out-of-bounds, more water and did I bring enough balls or will I have to stock up halfway round?

Fascinating stuff I hear your cry, but what the heck has all this got to do with Toronto FC? In a word: belief.

In the wake of the Reds’ morale-boosting victory at New York, it was interesting to hear how head coach John Carver managed to rally his troops with games running out and the team’s playoff hopes hanging by a thread.

“Believe in yourselves” was more or less what he told his players before kickoff.

Simple, but apparently effective advice; the performance and result was much improved and TFC returned home with only their third road win of the year.

Mental strength is a key ingredient for any professional sportsman - regardless of the sport. Toronto’s players are paid to believe and paid to deliver. I’ve never yet interviewed a player who admitted his team had no chance. Each individual must have self-belief and the team as a unit must function likewise or the game is lost before a ball is kicked.

Frustratingly, it’s all too little too late and I have not changed my opinion regarding Toronto’s playoff chances. Even if they win the three remaining games, and I sincerely hope they do, Carver’s men will finish the regular season with 40 points. True, that benchmark was sufficient to make the post-season in 2007 and 39 points were good enough to extend the season for New York the previous year.

Unfortunately, one swallow doesn’t make a summer and one isolated victory doesn’t solve the underlying problem of inconsistency. In addition, Carver’s roster will, again, be ravaged by international calls by the time his team takes to the field against FC Dallas on Saturday night - just in time to face 16-goal Kenny Cooper - second only to Landon Donovan in the race for the MLS Golden Boot - and TFC old-boy Jeff Cunningham, who’s scored five goals in eight games since leaving BMO Field two months ago.

I’m not a subscriber to the theory the Dallas game will present an opportunity for Toronto’s fringe players to “show what they can do”. If they had shown it already they would no longer be fringe players, they would be regular starters.

What Carver needs is a settled side which can build on the momentum of New York - a luxury he will not be afforded in Frisco. However, it’s somewhat ironic the league’s aforementioned two leading marksmen are playing for teams themselves struggling to make the playoffs. What is wrong with this picture?

P.S. Note to Monty - if I re-started my routine every time I had a negative thought, I’d never get off the first tee. And I think the starter at my local club might have issues with that.

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