FOR A player who has struggled with a positive frame of mind so much his own manager sent him to a psychiatrist, one wonders just if being introduced to a Scotland national set-up is the best thing for Ryan Fraser’s mental state.
Afterall, the start of this World Cup qualification campaign has not been the biggest source of joy and merriment. In fact, scrap that, make that the previous four. Most occupants of the sweeping stands of Hampden in the last decade come the end of another – at best – near miss have made the Rev IM Jolly look like a lottery winner who had just found out his missing ticket down the back of settee.
If it’s that hard going for the supporters, carrying the 19-year burden of being at home every summer can’t be a joy for the players tasked with bringing that wait to a halt.
Despite the reality that the attempt to get to Russia next year already looks a long shot after just four games, the fresh face of Fraser is attacking this new challenge with a buoyancy and vigour instilled in him by the Bournemouth club psychiatrist he was sent to by manager Eddie Howe. I’ll let the player himself explain.
“I was quite negative,” said the 23-year-old Aberdonian. “I went to see a psychiatrist to try and help me stop being so negative and that’s helped me out. If you are doing well you grow from it.
“I was kind of scared, yes. They are kind of judging you every moment. I would have my arms crossed and he’d be like: that’s negative. I was like: alright. So I dunno, you start to get nervous. You start changing things, you start twitching and things. I stopped twitching just because he was looking at me twitching. I try not to speak to him …but he helped me out a lot to be fair.
“I came on against Spurs in the 85th minute and had a one on one with Danny Rose. It was 0-0, the lads had just been working hard. And I didn’t take him on. I passed it back. And I was asked: Why did you do that? I said I didn’t want to lose and ball and they run in and score and then that’s all the lads’ hard work gone. He asked: But what if you took him on and crossed the ball and we scored from it. I hadn’t really thought of that. I had gone to the negative output, the safer output. That was the type of stuff holding me back.”
There seems very little holding back this young man now. Already with 20 Premier League matches under his belt this season – along with three goals – the former Pittodrie kid is arguably one of the few players in Gordon Strachan’s lot performing at the highest level on a regular basis.
It is just reward for a gamble Fraser took at the age of 18. Signed on a three-and-a-half-year deal back in 2013, the young teenager was transported 600 miles away from his family to the English south coast. Far out his comfort zone, Fraser's work ethic and talent was rewarded with a new contract at the start of the year.
“I felt like I made the right choice two weeks into the move,” said the former Aberdeen forward. “I got hammered for it and my family got hammered for it. I got tweets and messages, which were quite abusive, but I didn’t really react to it. I just do my talking on the pitch. If some people still think I’ve made the wrong decision, fair enough. Everyone’s got their opinion and they’re entitled to it.
“People saying [to his parents], ‘why has he done that?’ ‘He shouldn’t have done it. It’s a stupid decision’. It’s nothing to do with my mum and dad but they would be affected by it.”
Making his mum and dad proud is at the forefront of Fraser’s mind this week, just as it has been over the last four years during his time at Bournemouth. In an incredible story, that jaunt across the UK seems like nothing when compared to the sacrifice his dad Graeme made when his son was just a boy to pack in his job in the Middle East to allow his football dream to flourish. It will be with a tear in the eye Fraser Snr and family will watch on tonight at Easter Road for the friendly with Canada if his son completes his football journey from Oman to the Scotland national team.
“My mum and dad don’t like football to be honest with you,” said Fraser. “I used to live in Oman in the Middle East when my dad used to work offshore. I had a ball and I used to just kick it about. My dad was never good at sport. My mum [Debbie] was a 100m sprinter for Scotland. That’s where I probably get my pace from.
“When he thought I was good at football at a young age, he actually quit his job and came back over to Aberdeen to get me in the team. If it weren’t for that, I might still be in the Middle East somewhere. It was a huge sacrifice because my dad would have been on good money working offshore. There were no guarantees I’d make it as a player but he gave a lot up just so that I had a chance.
“[My first cap] would definitely be for him and my mum – they lost and then spent a lot of money on me to put me through teams and camps and courses when I was young. I want to repay them with a cap and every game in the Premier league I’m trying to do well for myself and make my family proud.”
No matter what happens tonight, it’s already mission accomplished.
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