Oli McBurnie feels ready to carry the burden of being Swansea City’s goal provider after an hour-long pep talk from Graham Potter.
The Scotland striker has admitted his chin was on his chest after he was given stick from fans following games in this month’s international break.
McBurnie’s mood darkened when he felt tiredness was affecting his sharpness on the pitch, but a conversation in the manager’s office – when the pair were due to be outside training – lifted his spirits and the effect was evident when he scored both goals in last weekend’s 2-0 win over Reading.
“The gaffer was meant to be out training and I was meant to be out training, but we were still stuck in his office, speaking to each other,” said McBurnie who had gone eight games without a goal.
“But it was easy to do that, because he’s a very intelligent person. Not only does he understand football, but he understands people.
“That’s massive. I’ve never had a manager care so much about me individually, in terms of everything – not just about how things are going on the pitch and whether or not I’m scoring, but every single thing in my life.
“I’ve never really had that before. He puts a lot of emphasis on improving as a person as well as a player. That’s what I needed and I’ll always be grateful.”
With Wilfried Bony injured and both Ayew brothers, Andre and Jordan having left the club early in the season, 22-year-old McBurnie has shouldered the responsibility for goalscoring at the Liberty Stadium largely on his own shoulders.
He has so far played in all 15 Championship matches this season, as well as the defeats for Scotland to Israel and Portugal, but says although he feels the weight of expectation it is no longer dragging him down.
“I’d say I’ve felt it in a good way in terms of the responsibility the gaffer has placed on me. I’m one of the more experienced players in this dressing room now, which is very early in my own career seeing as it’s my first real full season.
“There aren’t a lot of times that you get a 22-year-old being the regular No.9 at a club and that’s the position I find myself in.
“I’m trying to repay the gaffer, but sometimes it’s tough. I had the two Scotland games and then it was straight back into Swansea games which was tough on my body.”
The messages from the Potter pulpit were not revolutionary, but sensible and supportive and McBurnie says it as enough for him to feel confident he can cope with what is shaping up to be a demanding season.
“It was just learning how to deal with things. Whether that’s when things are going well or when there’s disappointment. It’s about not getting too up or down and staying on a level platform.
“There was not one thing, but lots of little things. I’m really grateful because a lot of managers in the past wouldn’t have done that.
“I try to get a bit more sleep – especially when we have three games in a week. All the travelling I was doing with Scotland, the gaffer could see it was taking its toll.
“I looked at myself and I need to give myself the best opportunity to perform when he’s choosing to play me for three 90 minute games in a week.
“So, it was about going to sleep a bit earlier and spending less time on the PlayStation.
“I haven’t set any targets for the goals. I just go into each game and try and score. Strikers can get bogged down if they think, ‘I want to get this many goals this season’ or ‘I’ve not scored for a while so I need this many goals from these games.’ It takes you away from your natural game.
“It’s about taking it as it comes. The more days you score twice, the better it feels.”
