By Tomo Taka

How will you end the year?

It’s Easter Sunday, but more significantly, it’s Super Sunday on Sky Sports. The headline act: Manchester United vs Chelsea.

April is crunch time in the Premier League season – that time of year when titles are won, Spurs choke and Steven Gerrard slips. It got me thinking as term 3 beckons. How will we end the year? We’ve had two fast and furious terms but the last stretch is where it really counts.

Borrowing a bunch of football clichés, here’s how I plan on tackling the business end of SCA:

‘Remember what got you here’

I don’t know how, but in a flash, we’ve all made it to term 3. The early days of painting mugs and life drawing with Ian seem a lifetime away. But since we’re still standing, we must be doing at least something right. Maybe it’s the early morning scamp routine, or the late night search for propositions. Whatever it is, keep doing the good stuff, and improve on the bad.

‘You’re only as good as your last game’

The aim should be to do better work each time. Keep challenging yourself to do more. If one brief turns out really bad, look forward to the next one to prove it was just a blip.

‘One game at a time’

This mantra that Leicester adopted in their title-winning season might serve us well too. The goal is the same for all of us – get a job – but maybe we can break down that goal into little targets. Maybe take things week-by-week, or set daily tasks, and slowly but surely we’ll be on our way.

‘Dig deep’

This year has been a mental and physical hog. But term 3 is when we need to be hitting our stride. The culmination of a long year could bring about mental cramp but dig deep and soldier on because the pain of losing is way worse than the pain of a hard game.

‘Play to the whistle’

Until the referee blows for full time, or we’re sat in a plush agency with ‘creative’ in our job title, anything can happen. If we’re losing, we have to believe we can make a comeback. If we’re winning, we’ll make sure we come out on top.

‘Don’t let it slip’

A.k.a the Steven Gerrard principle. Don’t get overwhelmed. Don’t get overexcited. Don’t panic. Don’t put unnecessary pressure on yourself. Don’t beat yourself up. Don’t give it to Demba Ba.

‘Keep your head’

Cooler heads prevail. But so do focused heads. I hope I’m Chelsea rather than Arsenal. But even Spurs are showing they can get their act together for the business end of the season. Just keep plugging away and hopefully we will find a way.