They say football is a simple game, and Ben Doherty agrees.
What the young Coleraine midfielder is referring to, however, has nothing to do with tactics and the old pass and move mantra but the other side of the game, the one which takes place inside your head.
The 22-year-old former Derry City ace, on a three-man shortlist for the Ulster Young Footballer of the Year award following a sparkling breakthrough campaign in the Irish League, says his fine form all boils down to playing with a smile on his face again – it really is as simple as that.
Of course there are other factors which contribute to coaxing the best out of players – the trust of the manager, the position you’re playing in and the performances of the team among them – but for Doherty, to be back enjoying his football is key.
Last season, things had begun to turn sour for him at the Brandywell, his hometown team where he had been since he was 17.
Not that he harbours any bitterness or resentment at how things panned out when he looks back, it’s just that being on the periphery of things and finding yourself out of favour for a prolonged period of time is damaging to a player’s confidence and morale.
Doherty felt he needed a change and with his star on the rise, he’s delighted his gamble paid off.
“At the time, when I went to Glenavon it was just about getting back playing football,” explained the Coleraine schemer, who joins Glenavon’s Caolan Marron and Ballymena’s Kofi Balmer in the running for the young player’s prize.
“It was just about enjoying it again and it has gone well for me. I wasn’t expecting a nomination so soon but it’s all going well.
“At Derry, I was training every week and then I didn’t have a game to look forward to at the end of it, so it was just becoming monotonous and for my own sake, I just wanted to get back enjoying my football again.
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“Glenavon gave me the opportunity to do that and Gary Hamilton was great with me, he told me just to go and play and go and enjoy myself again, and now it’s the same for me at Coleraine.
“When you’re playing, you are enjoying it and you are playing with a smile on your face. You’re willing to try things and they might not come off but you have confidence and your confidence is growing week in, week out.
“I wouldn’t say I got as far as thinking about walking away from football but, in my own head, I was thinking I don’t mind if I have to take a drop in standard or a drop in pay, I just wanted to get back to the fundamentals of football and playing with a smile on my face again with people who you get on well with.”
It’s been an odd kind of season for Doherty, split between two new clubs in a league which was also largely new to him.
In those first few months, he was thriving on loan in a Glenavon team which began the new campaign on the front foot, and then all of a sudden found himself thrust into a Coleraine team still finding their way under Rodney McAree and tasked with filling the void left by the departures of midfielders Darren McCauley and Ciaron Harkin, the latter part of the swap deal which saw Doherty move north to the Showgrounds.
All told, it’s been an eventful season but he says he’s loved every minute of it.
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“At Glenavon, we were up near the top of the league and playing big games and getting good results and that really helped my confidence,” explained the Northern Ireland under-21 international.
“I enjoyed every minute of it there and now it’s the same at Coleraine.
“Obviously we haven’t hit the same heights this year as we did last, when they were going for the league and won the Irish Cup, but we still managed to get a good Irish Cup run.
“We were unlucky there against Crusaders, it just wasn’t our day, but it’s still been good and it’s all worked out well for me.
“People said you shouldn’t move to a new club during the season but I feel I hit the ground running, I started scoring goals straight away and started setting up goals in my first few games and I think that helped mesettle.
“And they are a great group of lads at Coleraine too which also made it far easier for me to settle.”
The son of former Crusaders, Coleraine and Derry midfielder Eamon – his “biggest critic and biggest supporter” – Doherty was an early developer in football and made his debut in the Irish League with Institute aged just 16.
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He played 15 times that season under Paul Kee but, having stormed the Championship the year before to climb into the top flight, the Riverside men found the step up in quality too much and eventually succumbed to relegation.
Nevertheless, Doherty felt the experience was priceless, and after impressing in a pre-season game against their neighbours Derry City, then manager Peter Hutton moved to bring him to the Brandywell where he would make some 60 appearances over the course of the next four years.
His spell there would coincide with some harrowing times for the club, though, including the sudden death of captain Ryan McBride and the Buncrana tragedy which claimed the lives of five members of Josh Daniels’ family.
Naturally, Doherty was affected by events both on and off the field of play but remains fiercely proud to have represented his hometown club.
“The experience I got as a 16-year-old playing for Stute in the Irish League was unbelievable,” said Doherty.
“And I played a lot of football at Derry, particularly the first year when Kenny [Shiels] came in.
“He brought me up to the firsts around August time and then I played a lot in the second season as well.
“The third season I didn’t play as much, things were difficult around the club.
“There had been tragic circumstances around the club with Ryan McBride and Joshua Daniels, those things left a mark on the club too.
“But as a player, I just felt it was time for me to move on and I’m really glad I did because I’m really enjoying my football again.”
As for the future Doherty admits, like all of our best young players, the lure of the full-time game across the water is irresistible, adding: “You want to play at the top of the game obviously.
“I’m still young and every footballer’s dream is to play across the water and at as high a level as they can.
“For me, my focus is on playing for Coleraine in this league, but I’m ambitious too and you just have to look at Gavin Whyte and players like that over the last few years, who have went over to England.
“That’s what every player aspires to. They were consistent in this league and they got their chance and fair play to them.”
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