MAKING HIS MARK

BOURNEMOUTH AND REPUBLIC OF IRELAND GOALKEEPER MARK TRAVERS TELLS CHRIS DUNLAVY ABOUT HIS BURGEONING CAREER..

- CHRIS DUNLAVY

YOU need mental strength and belief to be a goalkeeper, so it’s just as well that Mark Travers has oodles of those qualities.

Man of the match on his Premier League debut for Bournemouth in 2019, the 22-year-old subsequently spent time on loan at Swindon Town.

He then made his third appearance for the Republic of Ireland in a World Cup qualifier against Serbia in March following injuries to Darren Randolph and Caoimhin Kelleher.

In the 68th minute, he was caught out of position and lobbed by Aleksandar Mitrovic, prompting a deluge of social media ridicule.

But the man from County Kildare did not buckle, and has this season emerged as first choice for a Bournemouth side flying high at the top of the Championship.

“Being strong mentally… it’s a huge part of the game,” says Travers, who joined the Cherries from Shamrock Rovers as a 17-year-old.

“A lot of the top athletes have a psychologist to push them and help them, because it is demanding and difficult being a sportsman. You know that every mistake will be scrutinised.

“Nobody is perfect. There are always going to be mistakes and goals going in that you should have stopped. But you have to put that behind you and make sure one mistake doesn't lead to two, three or four.

Brush it off, go again. Deal with it. It's not always easy as a footballer. You make mistakes, you're out the team, you can't get back in. As a keeper, especially, you can't just come on for 20 minutes at the end. That could be it for a while.