“I'd never worked with superstars so dealing with the likes of Rory McIlroy and how he was going to feel in that situation was alien to me. Sir Alex is the one who I thought could help me with that.
Similar quotes
“He spoke to the caddies before he spoke to the players, which was great.
“It was in combination with... the scrutiny and the demands placed on referees at the very top level. And that doesn't necessarily mean that you're struggling to cope with those demands, but it comes to a point where it feels that your body and your mind needs to take a break from those kind of pressures.
“It was a lot of fun for them and made them feel included, because they were a big part of what we did. I could hear the laughter coming from the caddies' room so I knew it was going well.
“Any referee will be lying to you if they said that pressure or that scrutiny did not bother them, because that's a natural human reaction.
“One of the challenges that referees face at every level is actually understanding the challenges that we face. Fear of making mistakes, external opinion, spectators, managers, parents, media, colleagues. All these things feed into creating self-doubt, lacking confidence, and then things can spiral out of control and you lose the ability to actually have any confidence in what you're doing on the field.
“That then starts to impact on motivation and your actual confidence. It goes back to the confidence again of, 'I've got to go again, make sure I don't make a mistake, still want to get to this tournament or have this match'. It's a very real feeling that everybody would go through.
“I would never feel like I would be wanting to be in a place where I want to criticise somebody, because I'd like to think I've got a very good understanding of why somebody's made a decision that they've made. Of course, a wrong decision can be made. Nobody really chooses to understand the reasoning why. I feel my skills and my passion are better suited to trying to pass on that knowledge and experience I've been lucky en
“As an international cricketer you are always representing the badge. We are a group of adults and we feel we can be treated like that.
