In a sense, his reference to playing with “freedom” also reflects a change in mindset for Farrell, a relief from some of that internal pressure.
“There were times when I’d overthink a lot of things, times where I got on top of myself too much, times where I felt like everything was on top of me. But I don’t feel that now, I still feel there’s miles more to come,” he adds.
“As you mature, you learn to do things a bit differently,” he adds. “What you used to do doesn’t always just keep working for the whole of your career. You learn to get the best out of yourself a bit differently. I am always wary about saying that sometimes you have changed because it could appear that you are pulling back, but it is really not the case, it is a way of getting more out of it. It is a way of letting the good stuff come out.
“When you are young, you are always chasing. You are still chasing now, but in a different way. I guess, maturing in that way, and trying to not carry things with you as much, and understanding that everything doesn’t have to go a certain way and you don’t have to expect everything to be the way you want it to be all the time. I would say I have got better at that. I wouldn’t say that I am good at it all the time.”
So has he mellowed a little bit? “I don’t know if people would describe it as ‘mellowed’. But it is different. I used to see what you think you should be. It used to fit at the same time when I was younger. I used to love trying harder at everything. I guess now half of it is almost not the ‘trying harder’ aspect. It is almost about getting out of my own way, peeling the layers off and let other stuff come through. Mellowed comes into that because I guess those sorts of things are softer skills but a lot of that comes from maturity and what you have been through.
“Now I try not to always keep piling stuff on top of yourself and be comfortable being you, backing yourself, and also getting out of the way of it. If that is the case on the training pitch and then in games, you are more than likely to have a good day.”