15/11/2008 - Garry Birtles: Tyson has a key role to play
So Colin Calderwood has urged Nathan Tyson to have more confidence in himself.Fair enough. There is no greater commodity for a striker than self-belief.
Trust me, I know from experience.
I remember that feeling when that first inkling of doubt creeps into your mind; when you first start to question whether you have what it takes.
Forget about putting the ball in the back of the net, it is your first touch you have to worry about.
You see the ball coming your way and straight away, you start to think, you start to try too hard. Everything is suddenly an effort.
When your confidence is low, you stop doing things on instinct. You try to think out everything before you do it.
You become hesitant and laborious.
But that shouldn't be a problem for Tyson at the minute, given his performance level against Birmingham. He was outstanding.
I wouldn't even worry about the lack of goals. They will come - if he manages to do one thing, that is.
And that vital factor is a mental issue, rather than a physical one. It really all is in his head.
Because the key to Tyson being a success is not just about utilising his physical abilities. It is more than just using his searing pace and his sharp finishing ability.
It is about keeping the opposition on their toes and, to do that, he has to maintain the element of surprise. He has to have some intelligence in his play.
At the minute, Tyson can find himself doubled up on by the opposition, who put two markers on him to stop him utilising his incredible speed.
That is an obvious obstacle - but it can also work in his favour. He can use it to his advantage.
When I was a player I would analyse the opposition, I would find out as much as I could about the defenders I would be up against. I would try to find a weakness I could exploit.
And I usually found that the best weapon in a striker's armoury is simple surprise. The unexpected.
I would even get my team-mates involved.
I'd have a word with Kenny Burns before a match and we'd work out a simple routine.
I'd just tell him that, when he was on the ball, I was going to run deep towards him and then break off suddenly and burst towards goal to my marker's left.
In the split second that I changed direction Kenny would already have launched the ball over the defender - and that man could pass, by the way - and I'd be away.
If it didn't work, we would try something else. But we would always communicate. Throughout the team, we would have something up our sleeves to catch the opposition out. We would always be thinking.
And, where Tyson is concerned in particular, that can be a fantastic weapon.
Because he has such blistering pace, people expect him to be a one-trick pony. They expect him to sit on the defender's shoulder and wait to be sent clear.
But, if he does find himself with two men on him at Ashton Gate, he is going to have to do something different.
He will have to come deep, push wide or just hold the ball up. He has to produce something unexpected.
If it doesn't work out for him, so what?
I am not being flippant when I say that, because while Tyson is trying to do something different - and he is more than capable of doing so - he will be occupying at least one defender, if not more.
And that will only create room for others. Forest have plenty of players capable of causing damage, with the likes of Paul Anderson, Joe Garner, Chris Cohen, Matt Thornhill and Garath McCleary all more than capable of finding the back of the net.
But, in the meantime, Tyson should have belief in his ability. He can get goals for Forest but, more importantly, he can also play a key role in keeping them on their unbeaten run.