Souness: beating adversity key to success
Speaking to the rising stars at the Irish Examiner Junior Sports Awards, the former Liverpool legend, Scottish international and well-travelled manager, insisted that, from his experience, the bigger the challenge, the bigger you become.
“What I am today, whatever type of person I am today, has been formed not by all the good things that have happened to me, but by all the setbacks,” he said.
“The first one was Tottenham deciding I wasn’t good enough to play in the first team at 18. I left there thinking: ‘I’m going to show you.’
“That follows through into something like getting an injury and your reaction to it. And when I went into management, that’s a whole different ball game, there are lots of setbacks in that.
“But all of those are what have made me what I am today.
“It’s not winning the European Cup three times or six league titles. None of that.
“It’s easy to be a strong character when you’re winning things.
“I am what I am because of the knocks I’ve taken, and that’s a message I’d like to get across to young athletes.”
Natural talent alone, he said, is not enough to guarantee success. And even for those who fall short of elite status, application and the right attitude can make a huge difference.
“If I can relate it to my business, the football business, I would say that the Premier League today is filled with average players but they’ve got strong characters and they’re athletic.
“Football’s not any better today than it was when I played - but they’re certainly fitter, more dedicated and maybe more intelligent.
“By that I mean they know that if they do a half-decent job they can play for 10 years and come out at the end of it with very few worries.
“One of the comforting things for me, when I look back, is that everything I could have been as a player, I gave myself that chance. Sure, I had a night out with the boys when the time was right, but I worked really hard in training, I looked after myself, and I don’t think I could have been a better player.
“Not everyone in this room will achieve their dreams. But you’ve got to give yourself every opportunity. Your life is going to be full of setbacks and how you handle them will determine how you go forward. Getting punched on the nose - not physically but mentally - is part and parcel of being an athlete. And if you’re going to be a top athlete you’ve got to be so strong mentally.
“Because whether it be football or athletics, doubt will creep in, whether minute by minute in a football match or if you’re on the starting blocks in a race, and the person next to you beat you last time out and the time before that. Your mind has got to be really strong. And I think I was very lucky to be blessed with that.
“So, again, what you have to accept today, is that there are going to be setbacks. It may come in the form of rejection or injury or loss of form.
“With injury, you’ll be in the gym on your own, six days a week. You’ll have plenty of time to think about things. That will happen to the vast majority of people in this room. These are all things I guarantee will happen to you.
“It’s how you deal with it that counts. That’s where the inner strength must show itself.”
Souness also emphasised the need to give everything you can to a career which is comparatively short.
“You’ve got to make the most out of it,” he said. “Whatever sport it is and whatever level you attain. When it finishes, it’s finished.
“There’ll be periods in your career where you’ll think: ‘I’ve had enough.’ But until your body tells you can do no more, stick with it, even up to 37, 38, 40, if your body allows because once it’s gone, it’s gone.
“It’s such an important part of your life that you can never go back to.”
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