Pre Match Tension

This is getting ridiculous. For as long as I can remember, I've had this affliction where I am sick before big matches. In fact, the match doesn't even have to be that big. I am certainly sick before any Cardiff City away game, and before every Welsh international that isn't a friendly.

Famously, I once lost my false teeth when I was sick in a hedge on my way to Hereford for an unimportant Division 4 fixture.

But today's "big game" ? Cae Glyn v Y Felinheli. Under 7's.

I thought I was ill when I woke up. A slightly, tickly throat, and a bitter taste. Then the coughing started, shallow, light, unproductive. But it developed. A rasp,a throat-clearing rake, and there I was, perched over the pan, sweating, palms pressed against the cold tiles of the bathroom wall.

It was only when I developed the slight, almost imperceivable shiver that I could identify the cause. Pre-match tension. Absurd. I need to sort myself out.

I am the manager of the side. I need to display a calm confident manner which puts my young charges at ease. Please don't let me be sick on the pitch. It wouldn't look good.