Q&A With… Rab Kielty

The Official Website’s Grant Morton spoke to a recent addition to the coaching staff, Rab Kielty, this week and he gave a very interesting insight into his role at the club …

GM: What is your role at the club?
RK: I suppose you could call me a Fitness Consultant/Sports Scientist. I met Colin at an SFA workshop and worked with him at Blackpool. He brought me in here to work with the players on the fitness side of things.

Where else have you previously worked?
I have previously worked at Dundee Utd and Motherwell, as well as Blackpool. I have also recently done a lot of work in Rugby.

How does working at Clyde differ from clubs of a higher level?
It is different as there is more support for the players and more experts at the higher level. Teams such as Bolton, for example, will have up to 20 Fitness Consultants and Sports Scientists.

You seem to be very popular with the players. Are you giving something to the team that previously wasn’t there?
It definitely wasn’t there. We’ve gradually introduced a regime for the boys to follow. We specifically look at things such as strength conditioning, we’ve brought in Pamela, a nutritionalist, to help the players with their diets and look at body fats, and we have given out lots of reading material. What we have done that wasn’t done before is to bring in a designed structure for the players to follow. But we have stressed to the players that they are responsible for their own fitness, with our support. They are a very hard-working bunch of guys. They have responded perfectly and only one or two like a moan!

You are working mostly with younger players. What is important for them?
It is important that we try to make the players take responsibility for their own fitness and help develop a positive attitude towards fitness and physical preparations. Preparations are things such as diet, rest and recovery. Injury prevention is very important for the younger players as well. It is all about helping them adapt the right attitude and help them prolong their careers and have successful ones. And all the guys recognise this, which makes my job all the more enjoyable.

Is training younger players different from training older players?
There are probably small differences. You have to enforce it more with younger players usually and give them more guidance, although the players here have responded superbly to the regimes introduced. Marvyn (Wilson) is a good example for the younger players to follow as he has kept himself in great condition. Generally though we have to make players wiser, younger.

How are you enjoying your time at the club?
It’s excellent. I’m really enjoying my work. It is challenging, as the players are young. I’ve not done a lot of work in the First Division as not many clubs at this level use Fitness Consultants and Sports Scientists. It’s a very enjoyable club to be at, part of that is because of the players, and I must congratulate them. Although there is a long way to go, their response to the sessions has been absolutely fantastic.

Do you see the work that you do on the pitch on match days?
I think most people see it apart from me. Colin has said that he has seen differences on the pitch and the players say they have felt it, so it must be making an impact. It isn’t always easy in football to see the work that is done in training, as there are too many variables such as bad decisions and mistakes, which can put a cloud over things. But if the fitness is maintained it cuts out excuses and cuts out some of the variables for poor performance. I think there are a few teams in the league who have ageing teams who are not doing the work we are on fitness and they will struggle as the season goes on.

Are the player’s fitness levels now at the level that they should be?
No. You can always improve your fitness. We have done overtime but it’s very difficult to improve fitness during the course of a season. It is more about maintaining fitness. This can be challenging, especially with the injured players and trying to keep them fresh. It is important to realise that, for whatever reason, footballers don’t train as much as athletes in other sports. Sports such as Rugby, Volleyball and Swimming involve much more training, so it is important that the players do keep fit and look after themselves.

Is there a limit to what fitness can achieve?
Most certainly. Football is all about technique and skill. However, you cannot execute those skills without fitness. All the sessions we do are with a ball, apart from powerlifting, which we have just introduced.

How do you think the team has performed so far this season?
I think football wise, we can improve. Everyone will tell you that. All the players are really frustrated at not doing better. The lads have been tremendous though. They’re all really enthusiastic and can’t wait for the season to continue. I think that come the end of the season we will be higher up the table.

From the point of view of a fitness coach, is the break this weekend a good or a bad thing?
It’s bad in terms of the Dundee result, as we were on a high and it would have good to keep the momentum going. So a game would have been great. In terms of preparation, the lads are coming in on Saturday morning to do a fitness session, to keep levels up, and then it will be back to the normal routine on Monday. It is crucial though that the team gets enough rest and recovery.

How important is a player’s diet?
It is too important to put down to chance. The evidence of the importance of nutrition is overwhelming. Nutrition leads to performance on the pitch. The players are allowed to enjoy themselves at the right times. Moderation and a common sense approach is key. The players need to be looking after themselves properly, and they are all doing that. The club must keep certain standards and has a fines structure if players fall out of line but so far there have been no incidents. I think it has a lot to do with them being a younger group than usual. A lot of the younger players don’t drink, which is great, and there are 4 or 5 in the first team that don’t drink.

One part of what your job entails is psychological profiling. What exactly is this?
We have done this with only one or two of the team. It’s simply when the players examine the strengths and weaknesses of their performance, and look at plans for game preparation. It can help the players get into a routine and helps identify and improve the weaknesses in their game. It can be very useful with younger players and helps keep on top of anything potentially problematic.

How much of performance is psychological?
A psychologist would tell you that it is crucial. From my own experience, some use psychological methods and some don’t. It might help with goal setting. It is important to keep morale high as it helps win games. It is important to realise that footballers are no different from the general public. Some are mentally strong and some need a little extra help.

What did you know of Clyde before you came here?
I started my career at Queen’s Park, and my first ever reserve game was against Clyde at Shawfield. I played against a very famous Clyde player, Stevie Evans, and Ian McCall played that game as well. I grew up in Cambuslang, and used to go down to watch Clyde quite a lot when I was young, so I am very familiar with the club. Also, my brother-in-law was a season ticket holder. He is always trying to get inside information from me!