Discussing the mental side of the game with Wolves striker Jorgen Stand Larsen, who discusses what goes through his mind when he misses an opportunity to add to his goal tally.
Mentally preparing for a game…
“Now, it’s more like a job where you go through your routines and do the same things all the time. I’ve done that since I was little and began to play professionally, but every year I have learned more things and feel more things that are good for me and not so good. You have to prepare mentally as well as physically so you can get into the zone. It’s not like, ‘We’re going to play Arsenal, it’s going to be difficult’, we do the same thing as we would do if we were playing any other team. Then after that, it’s about going into that box so you’re mentally in another place.”
Recovering from setbacks…
“As a striker, you need to forget things a lot of the time. If you miss a big chance or if you miss a header, that’s football, these things happen. I had some big ones recently and were close, but I just had to forget about them as I know the next one is going to come soon. In this group, we’re really good at helping each other to think like that, like ‘Come on lad, you’ll get the next one.’ I’m not worried about that and know the next chance and next goal will come.”
Staying level-headed after positives…
“It’s really important to stay level-headed. I had a few years where I scored a lot of goals and it’s difficult to stay where you should be, keep working hard and staying the same way, but it’s so important. In this group, we’re always respectful of each other and always say the truth, so if someone sees me flying high, or even a little bit under with the confidence, they will always help me to come back level with their honesty. Also, you don’t want to be around someone that’s too cocky because they’ve scored a few goals, so I’d never be like that.”
Beginning match preparations…
“I start a few days ahead of the game, always have the same routines, starting from two days before the game. If we play Saturday, I will start on Thursday, eating the same things, then on Friday it’s the same. I have rituals, like putting on the right boot first, and then the left, all those things.”
Cutting off afterwards…
“I can do that quite quickly. It’s important to analyse the game and use the evening to go through some stuff, especially if it’s gone wrong or if we lose or if I have a bad game – it’s good to go through it with the coaches and with yourself and find some answers, and then you’ve got to kill it and leave it behind. But it’s the same if you win, you can celebrate it, but then you’ve quickly got to let it go because the next game will be coming round soon. This is football and there’s always a new opportunity.”
What has changed…
“It’s changed massively. When I was younger, I was always in my head thinking that I should have scored every chance and I would still be stuck on it for a few days later. That’s normal because you always want to do your best and you always know you can do better. Football is all about margins and small details, so you know there is going to come a new game, you know there’s going to come a new chance, so you have to get yourself better for the next one. To play at a high level for all these years now, I’ve been growing and taking a new step every year and it’s been so important that I’ve had it in my mind that that’s how it is. It all comes with experience and experience at a higher level. When I was in Norway, it was different, and the mentality was different, and now I’m here, if I was here at 18 or 19, I would have been totally different, but I had to take the long road to get here. But because of my journey, I know that I can handle whatever happens – because you never know what’s going to happen and you need to prepare for every eventuality.”
This article originally featured in Wolves' official 2024/25 matchday programme. Last season's programmes are still available to purchase online through retailers Curtis Sports.
