Mental Strength Behind the Goals: Shaw Opens Up on Career Turnaround
Khadija “Bunny” Shaw has pointed to psychological support as a major driver behind her outstanding revival and record-breaking season with Manchester City.
During the current campaign, the Reggae Girlz striker has written her name into club history by becoming the first female player to reach 100 goals for Manchester City.
Across the Barclays Women’s Super League, Shaw has been in ruthless form, topping the scoring charts with 12 goals from 11 appearances.
That surge represents a dramatic shift from the injury-affected 2024–2025 season, when the Jamaican international found it difficult to match the elite standards she had previously set.
In the campaign before that setback, Shaw dominated the individual honours, collecting the Golden Boot, Player of the Season and Football Writers’ Player of the Season awards.
Reflecting on her journey, Shaw told Manchester City’s in-house media that working with a psychologist played a central role in helping her manage both personal and professional pressures.
“For me having a psychologist definitely helped me because growing up and how I’ve been I’ve never really like sat down and opened up to someone and explain and expressed and it’s always about keeping it in focus on the next thing it’s going to be fine however you feel,” Shaw explained.
Describing the impact of those sessions, she added, “I went there and I just held a conversation like we’re having a conversation here and before you know it you don’t think about it but then you’re like wow you leave that session like I left a lot in there like the burden feels less.”
According to Shaw, that emotional release has been vital in allowing her to separate off-field challenges from her performances on match day.
“I feel like I can speak to someone and express what I’m going through and them helping to find ways to help me off the pitch so that when I go on the pitch I don’t feel so clustered and so like heavy,” she said.
The Manchester City forward also stressed the importance of continuing those conversations even during periods of success.
“And even in my best moments I still speak to them because that’s the next thing,” Shaw noted.
Further emphasising that point, she said, “Sometimes your good moments as well you need to still express and let things off of your chest and I think having a psychologist definitely helped me throughout the difficult times.”
Attention now turns to City’s next league fixture, with the table-toppers set to face Arsenal away in the WSL on January 10, 2026, as they carry a 10-match winning run and a 30-point lead at the summit, eight points clear of third-placed Arsenal.
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