John Higgins admits he is finally ready to consider working with a sports psychologist to make the most of the twilight of his career.
And the 47-year-old snooker legend revealed it was talking to former assistant Celtic coach Tommy Craig that proved the trigger to considering a new approach.
Four-time world champion Higgins is one of the greats of the game, having racked up 31 ranking titles including those Crucible successes.
READ MORE:
-
Chen Zifan Becomes Eighth Player Suspended Over Corruption Probe
-
Mark Selby Calls English Open Win His 'Greatest Achievement'
But the last 14 months have been tough for the ‘Wizard of Wishaw’. Higgins lost five big finals in some cases losing big leads – and suffered a poor first half to the current season.
World No6 Higgins, in his 31st season as a pro, until now believed he could do it all on his own by relying on a teak-tough temperament – at least since the sad loss of his father and mentor John Sr in 2011.
But cracks have appeared in Higgins’ self-belief in recent months, and casting an eye at the likes of Steve Peters working with rival Ronnie O’Sullivan may also have played a part.
Higgins said: “Going back 12, maybe 14 months it was decent to start with for me even though I hadn’t really got my hands on the silverware.
“I was playing well in the main and reaching several big finals. But the second half of 2022 has been pretty brutal.
“It gets more difficult to deal with defeats and bad performances as you get older – that’s what I find, anyway. Maybe that’s not the case for all players as they get older.
“And I have thought that it could be time for me to see someone like a sports psychologist, everyone else seems to be doing it.
“Most of this game is between the ears and that is where I have been struggling in the last six months especially.
“In years gone past when I had a dip I would just assume that I would get it back again, and most of the time that is what happened.
“But this feels a bit different as you get a bit older. Maybe I can’t get it back without professional sports help. I am more open to that than I have ever been in my career.
“I think in the past I just thought I was strong enough mentally and could do it on my own without any extra help.
“But maybe nowadays I am more fragile in that area so it is something I could look at. So many top players have got someone in their corner in some capacity.
“People to talk to and different things. And I have never really had that apart from my dad in the first part of my career. It can be a lonely world, snooker.
“I don’t know who might be interested. But I think I would rather it be someone that works just with me. You see some mind coaches in snooker that work various players.
“But I think for me I would be more open to someone solely working with me, at least in my sport.
“I’d certainly be open to those with a good track record in other sports, maybe rugby or golf. A different perspective on things can be very helpful.
“I am just at that stage in my career that I might quite like and enjoy it as a new thing. I have spoken about it with my wife, and going into the New Year it is something I may look at.
“It has to be the right person and someone you click with, I’m sure you’d get an idea early if it was going to work.
“Something that got me thinking about all this was speaking to Tommy Craig who lives near me – the former Celtic assistant manager.
“At one of the World Championships he was down visiting family in Sheffield and came to all of my games.
“And before and after I’d chat to him for 10-15 minutes, and just to talk to someone in that line of top-level sport was really enjoyable.
“I would just sit and listen and try and take little pointers as he talked away about life and sport and football and I really liked talking to someone who has been at the business end in their sport.
“Even in a team sport, someone like him knows all about dealing with pressure, and he worked with Newcastle as well.
“I’m not saying him, he’s retired now and enjoying his life – but I liked having that sounding board.”
