Ex-Newcastle United defender Jamie Sterry reveals the mental impact of Hartlepool United injury nightmare

Sterry had completed consecutive 90 minutes for Hartlepool United for the first time since August in December’s wins over Crawley Town and Rochdale, but lasted just 60 minutes in the defeat to Mansfield after a groin problem.

For Hartlepool, they were losing a key player, again. But for Sterry, himself, it goes much deeper.

Speaking over Christmas, Sterry revealed this has been the toughest spell of his career owing to the stop-start nature of his season.

But while injuries take their toll on any player, what is often overlooked is the mental impact.

Sterry has been very candid with regard to the mental challenges he has faced in recent years, particularly during his spells away from boyhood club, Newcastle United.

But now, in a place he has grown to love at Hartlepool, Sterry is beginning to feel the strain of those ‘what if’ questions the mind often challenges us with and whether his injury record raises concerns over his commitment to the club.

And here, in an alcove of the club’s Maiden Castle training base, Sterry sat down and opened up some more on his state of mind and how he tries to deal with the challenges he is facing.

“It’s been very tough with the injuries,” says Sterry.

“If you have a long-term injury you know how long you’re going to be out for but, with me, I’ve just been back and forth with little injuries and I think that’s probably been the hardest thing because you work so hard to get back to fitness, and get ready for the game and training, then you drop back out with an injury.

"There’s been so many niggles. It was really bad when I had my calf injury. I’d come back quite quickly from the back injury [in October] and then I had the calf injury and for two weeks I was the worst I’ve ever been [mentally]. For a good two weeks I was terrible. I just kept thinking how am I going to get back?

“Probably the biggest worry is how people are going to see it. The situation we’re in at the club, in terms of where we are in the league, people will be thinking ‘he doesn’t want to be here,’ but 100 per cent I want to be here.

“I know when I'm fit, not being big time, I have a big impact on the team and I do love playing here and enjoy every minute of playing. But I do think it’s been the toughest part [of my career].”

The stigma surrounding mental health issues within society has improved but there remains so much more work to do.

But at 27-years-old, Sterry has matured in his approach to dealing with things off the field when it comes to peace of mind and his own personal headspace.

The full-back has long been working with a mind and performance coach but also admits the support of his family will never go overlooked in helping him step out of what he describes as a vicious circle of low mood.

“I’m a lot, lot better. But that’s because I spoke about it and I work with a mind and performance coach for football - probably day to day stuff,” says Sterry.

“I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts at the minute, The High Performance podcast is one and there’s one out with Mat Fraser, a CrossFit champion. I wouldn’t have known about him but in the lockdown when I was training on my own I used to watch how hard he worked and how strong mentally he was to put his body through some of the hardest things he could ever imagine doing which was quite inspirational.

“Family is massive, especially my Mrs. She helps so much. But I learn with myself and my coach as well which helps massively.

“Just looking at life a bit differently and what’s in my control and what’s out of my control. I feel like the hardest thing I think about is the ‘what ifs.’ But you don’t know what’s going to happen, so if you can just deal with the controllables it will help a lot.

“If you’re thinking and stressing about other things, you end up in a vicious circle where your head is working all the time. I’ve been in that circle many times and learned to get out of that.”

One of the ways in which Sterry helped get himself out of that vicious circle came in the aforementioned lockdown of 2020.

Sterry was heading out of contract at St James’s Park, his dream of establishing himself as a regular for the Magpies over, but he kept himself busy by helping others with their fitness.

While the full-back can often be seen with a smile upon his face and engaging with team-mates around the club’s training facilities, he is often reserved in a more public domain. Here, though, the 27-year-old put himself out there on live streams with the help of former Newcastle team-mates including Jamaal Lascelles and DeAndre Yedlin.

“I needed it to help me speak more and learn to have that bit more confidence in myself because of the mind,” he says.

“The first session, I did by myself, was probably one of the most nervous I’ve been in my life because I'm just talking to the camera. I feel like that helped me build myself up.”

Last year Sterry received the Hartlepool United Community Sports Foundation award for his outstanding work within the community. In the run-up to Christmas, Sterry helped raise over £2,500 for the Hartlepool foodbank.

“Last year I did a lot of visits - me and Fergie and Smudge [Martin Smith] did a lot of going down to the disability football.

“Even in the lockdown I did live videos which were like HIIT sessions to help everybody else.

“I always believe that I've got to try and be the best version of myself, and I feel like that’s what I do day-to-day. I’m a top professional in anything I do. I want to succeed in it.”

Unfortunately for Sterry, this season at least, that success has not been on the pitch.

With just six-months now remaining on his contract, Sterry is entering those ‘what if’ scenarios once again.

But this time, despite the injuries, Sterry appears to be more in control of the situation - something which he has also thanked Hartlepool boss Keith Curle for.

“Pressure on myself is probably the biggest thing I do,” admits Sterry.

“Sometimes I probably put too much pressure on myself, but if I didn’t put that pressure on myself I wouldn't achieve the things I want to achieve and be the best version of myself possible which I pride myself in trying to do everyday.

“It has been tough with the worry and it goes back to the what ifs. So what if I get another injury? What’s going to happen now?

"But I thank the gaffer for that as well. He’s been really good. I haven't been able to repay him as much because I haven't been on the pitch. But he’s someone who has a bit of trust in me which is what I need.”

For Hartlepool, Sterry is the kind character they will need in and around the dressing room.

It’s perhaps why there was that collective sigh of despair when he was forced off against Mansfield. For supporters know how much they need him, but also, maybe, just how much Sterry needs them.