If you happen to step inside Brunton Park early on a matchday, you’ll see a familiar scene playing out: Tobi Sho-Silva, the Carlisle United striker, alone on the pitch, walking to all corners of the pitch, occasionally stretching, momentarily jogging, thinking, contemplating.
It is a quite deliberate pre-game ritual: a little spell of calm before the 90-minute madness ahead. Sho-Silva, the substitute who has contributed dramatically to the Blues’ four successive victories recently, now sheds light on the routine.
“First of all, I’m always on the phone to my mentor, who’s been with me since I was 17,” he says. “We always talk about games, and training, and he prays for me before a game.
“I’ve been doing that since I met him. It’s not something I have to do, it’s something that focuses me. I do something which I call ‘smell the grass’, which [means] trying to be present.
“There can be so much going on in the week that you forget you’ve got a 90-minute game to play. For 90 minutes you’ve got to block all of that out and be present.
“I do a bit of visualisation – if I come on, this is what it’s gonna look like, these are the distances; if the pitch is a bit bigger, you might be able to stretch it, or it might be smaller and you might need to hook it on, things like that.
“The pitch dimensions, or if it’s raining, it might be a bit boggy so it’s going to slow down there…there’s so many different things. Just having a walk around, I call it ‘the calm before the storm’, where you [focus on] exactly where you’re going to be and what you’re going to be doing for the next 90 minutes.”
This is a thoughtful insight into a footballer’s mindset which is at odds with the perception that many simply turn up, train, play and go home. Sho-Silva, the January signing from Sutton United, adds: “It’s always something I’ve done in the clubs I’ve been to. It’s something I learned in my academy days, just about visualisation.
“Some people laugh and think it’s silly, or people think it’s superstitious. It’s nothing like that. Football’s not just a physical game, it’s mental, emotional, tactical, technical. If you can get that extra one or two per cent you might as well go for it.”
Carlisle are certainly getting those extra percentage points from Sho-Silva right now. Under Paul Simpson, he has contributed decisively from the bench in all four of the manager’s games. At Leyton Orient, he headed a goalbound home attempt off the line. Against Rochdale, he scored a game-clinching goal which also happened to be his first in the EFL. At Oldham Athletic he hustled the 94th-minute free-kick which resulted in Morgan Feeney’s winner.
Then, against Northampton Town, the 26-year-old scored within seconds of coming on, then earned another injury-time free-kick that led to United’s winning penalty as a packed Brunton Park lost itself to bedlam.
Simpson has spoken of Sho-Silva’s “professionalism” at a time he is not starting games. The Londoner says: “We talk about the importance of the team and it’s not just the starting XI. Boys that might be injured or not in the squad, or on the bench – everyone’s got to be ready to play their part.
“It’s not good individuals that win stuff, it’s good teams. I couldn’t do what Mark [Howard] does in goal, [although] he probably could do what I do up front! But it’s just being ready to contribute to whatever opportunity you get to the success of the team, and to play for the badge and fans.
“It does take that mindset of professionalism. I see football as something I love to do, but it’s also a job at the end of the day. Sometimes things are out of your hands in terms of how much you want to play, but you can only control what you can control.
“That’s what you do from Monday to Friday, and if you get the chance, to play on Saturday and give it your all. It’s nothing personal, I want to play every minute of every game, but it’s the manager who makes that decision and it falls on his shoulders, on his team selection. All I can do is be ready and give 100 per cent for the fans and the club that I’m part of and that have brought me in.”
Sho-Silva enjoyed the “amazing and sensational” scenes at the end of Saturday’s game and, a month and a half into his United spell, is also steadily feeling more at home in Carlisle. It was important to Sho-Silva that he found a church in the city soon after moving north and, having done so, now has further foundations.
“It’s everything to me,” he says of his Christian faith. “For me it’s the anchor to my soul. As much as there’s so much change that goes on in life, Jesus and my relationship with him is that place of peace, that place of purpose, that place of identity and comfort for me.
“That’s where I am, as Tobi as a person before I’m Tobi as a player. I always make sure I’m looked after as an individual through my faith, then I can give everything else to the world.”
Sho-Silva sought out an Elim Pentecostal church in Carlisle. “I’ve been to a few down south, I just found another Elim branch up here and they’ve been welcoming,” he says. “They know a couple of people I’ve known from down south which has been a nice connection, and hopefully good words were spoken about me! It’s just community really, people who I can grow with and do life with.
“I think that’s the most important thing about a church: where you feel like you can belong, be heard and supported.”
Taught him a lot since I’ve taken him under my wing 🤣 Great player. Great character to have around and a lad with a bright bright future ahead!
— Tobi Sho-Silva (@TobiSho_) March 13, 2022
Happy Birthday bro @dynel_simeu 🤙🏾🎉 pic.twitter.com/M4xeqW5zy9
Sho-Silva says he has also felt supported by his team-mates and the Carlisle public. “The sun’s actually out today…someone said I should take a picture, it doesn’t last long,” he jokes. “It’s pretty nice, the town’s friendly, the people are friendly.
“The boys have been so welcoming as well, and some people put on Twitter ‘you’re a…Cumbrian hero’ or something like that. They’re already giving me some sort of titles. It’s nice to be in a different part of the world and it is a beautiful part of the world.”
Sho-Silva admitted he has not got a full grasp on the Cumbrian accent yet – but supporters’ sentiments on days like Saturday are not difficult to absorb.
“It’s amazing to be part of,” he says. “I remember warming up and some of the younger fans calling my name, asking for my shirt, things like that. You’re thinking, ‘This is what football’s about’ – the enjoyment, the memories.
“I’m a Liverpool fan, so I remember Istanbul in 2005, and my shirt was off around my head. I’ll probably never forget that. To be part of creating memories like that, I know how important it is for fans that support their club, home and away. They’re loyal, this is part of their life. It’s not really a choice. It’s just sensational to be part of right now.”
The same question can be asked of Sho-Silva as is being put to everyone else at Brunton Park right now: what’s behind this astonishing turnaround in form – from one point in six games to four straight wins and a huge resurgence in support?
“I wouldn’t be able to put a single thing on it, to be honest,” he says. “Orient was the first game under Simmo, and maybe he came in and changed a few tactics, gave us a bit of encouragement. A man of his stature coming to the club lifts the club as well. Even if it lifts it five or ten per cent, the boys feel it, the club feels it, the fans feel it and all that contributes to everything.
“When you get that first win it can be a snowball effect. Winning…I wouldn’t say it’s like a drug but it becomes like a habit. ‘This is how we do it’. You get into that winning mindset and go into the next one thinking, ‘Why not, let’s go for it’.
“We know how to win as a team and I think we learn that as you gel more and more.”
Sho-Silva reflected on his game-clinching goal against Rochdale, his first in the Football League, as a “really proud moment”. Other goals have come against Colchester United and Northampton, and belief is glowing from the player and his peers.
“I’m feeling really good,” he says. “I live with Dynel [Simeu], and he’s only just calmed down this morning…
“It’s been delightful. You can sense a belief in the club, kind of like a confidence, but a tamed one because we’ve still got a lot of games to go. It’s a good feeling around the place.
“I’m just grateful for every opportunity I get at the moment, and to get two late goals in two games [against Oldham and Northampton] I think shows the character of a team. Not just from being 1-0 down last week, but scoring and then getting a setback this weekend, and still believing.
“That belief all the way to the end…that gets you more points than it doesn’t in football.”
Being grounded in high times is also crucial at United just now. Tomorrow brings another top League Two side in Newport County to Brunton Park. Sho-Silva, when he steps onto the pitch before anyone else, will be very much back in the moment as he considers the latest set of challenges.
“Although we’ve won four, we want to back it up,” he says. “There’s no point just letting your foot off the gas. Every game, all 46 of the games, should be cup finals, because they are.
“We’re blessed to be able to do what we do. We’ll go in with confidence but with a humility as well, knowing Newport aren’t up there for no reason.
“They’re obviously a good side and we need to take note of that as well. Go in with confidence but a determination to work hard to match them and showcase what we can do as well.”
READ MORE: Carlisle United's Southampton loanee Dynel Simeu: 'This is Carlisle's club, a community. I love it'
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