30 November 2023 , 07:00
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Jamie Carragher has revealed using the same sports psychiatrist as snooker legend Ronnie O'Sullivan during his playing days.
Carragher, who now works as a pundit for Sky Sports, spent his entire career as a professional footballer at Liverpool. The ex-defender discussed his mental health on the latest episode of the Stick to Football podcast, which featured O'Sullivan as a special guest.
Sitting alongside Carragher, Gary Neville, Ian Wright and Roy Keane, O'Sullivan revealed plenty about his snooker career. The Rocket is regarded as one of his sport's most talented stars, having won the World Snooker Championship a staggering seven times.
In that chat, O'Sullivan revealed he spoke to Dr Steve Peters, a sports psychiatrist who also worked at Liverpool. Dr Peters, who is best known for his work with British Cycling, helped O'Sullivan regain his form and win back-to-back world titles in 2012 and 2013.
"For the first year, he (Dr Peters) was in my dressing room the whole time we worked together - I needed to have him there," O'Sullivan told Stick to Football. "After that, I was alright - I didn’t want to take up too much of his time, so we did a lot over the phone. He told me that if I wasn’t prepared to do the homework, it wouldn’t make a bit of difference.
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"The biggest thing was me realising why I used to just throw matches away. I thought I didn’t care, but I did care, it was just that I couldn’t cope with playing badly so I was looking for the exit door. Now, when I play bad, I grind it out.
Carragher has also admitted to seeking Dr Peters' help (James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)Is Ronnie O'Sullivan the greatest snooker player of all time? Let us know in the comments below!
"It’s added a lot of resilience to my game, and I win a lot of matches where I’m probably not the better player, but I dig in and get to the tight part of the match, and win matches I could’ve lost pre-Steve Peters. It was getting through those moments that really helped with Steve, and he gave me a chance to fulfil my potential."
Carragher then revealed how Dr Peters helped him. He said: "Dr Steve Peters worked at Liverpool for some time, who came in towards the end of my career and when I chatted to him, I realised that mental wellbeing does get affected when you’re playing football.
"If I had a bad game or was at fault for a goal, I’d find it difficult to get over, I couldn’t erase it from my memory the next day and I found it strange when players could do that. I spoke to Dr Steve Peters and Bill Beswick at different points, and I realised that you’re not fixing the problem, you’re almost accepting it.
"That is the person you are and that is what drives you on. That feeling you’ve got about being down or angry about a performance is what drives you on in the next training session or in the next game and you can’t get it out of your head."