Wolves Women midfielder Katie Johnson shares her matchday routine and superstitions.
First thing
The first thing I do is have a coffee. That's the ritual, always. I have a little coffee machine and I have a coffee every Sunday. It’s called a mocha latte or something like that. But one thing that I always do every day, regardless of whether it’s matchday or not is take a hay fever tablet. That’s always first on my to do list because my allergies are insane. All-year round, no matter what. I haven't had a sense of smell for three years. To be honest, it can sometimes be quite a good thing because when everyone stinks after training, I literally can't smell anything. But I have to take a tablet every morning, and especially on a matchday just so I’m not crying in any of the photos!
Food and drink
I try and keep my food exactly the same every matchday. It always used to be Weetabix, but then when I got a bit older, I switched to poached egg on toast with ketchup. It does depend on whether we’re home or away, but sometimes if we’ve got a long trip, like we had at Hull the other weekend, I can’t be eating a poached egg before 8am on a Sunday, so I’ll have four Weetabix instead. The fourth one's usually a task, but I’ll force it down. Then on the coach, we’ll usually have pasta pots, but I’m not a massive fan of pasta, so I’ll bring my own stuff like squares bars and carbs for energy.
On the headphones
I’m not really in control of any of the music or anything like that. At home games, I usually take Quigs with me to Telford, and me and Quigs have a few songs that we listen to and dance to on the way. There’s one, it's called ‘Cuff It’ by Beyonce, and we always have to have a little dance to that in the car, and if we ever take anybody else, they have to join in the dance otherwise they're not allowed in the car! But there’s a few songs which we like to have a little boogie to on the way to get us pumped up.
Talking a good game
Me and Quigs will always have a chat in the car on the way to the games, but usually we’re just trying to get each other pumped up. It’s about getting into a good headspace, a positive headspace, and because of how early we get to the game, because we have breakfast there, we're just thinking about being in a positive mindset and then we’ll talk about the details a bit closer to kick-off time. For me, football is just a mind thing, and there’s nothing worse than having a bad nights sleep before a game because if I don’t sleep well on a Saturday night, that’s all I’ll be thinking about.
Bus buddies
I’m a bit boring on an away day, as I like to have a nap on the coach. Sleep is a vital thing for me and I need my brain and my body to be as relaxed as possible if I’m to play well, so I always try and get some sleep in while the girls watch Match of the Day. Quite often I’ll sit next to Quigs, but there’s no one specific that I'm racing to get next to on the coach. I'll quite happily chat to anyone and I’ll just sit wherever’s left. I've always got a little red Christmas blanket which I got a few years ago, so I look like a little Granny tucked up under my blanket.
At the ground
We all usually go out as a team to check out the pitch, but I just try to get in the right headspace again, just try to remember my role, and prepare for the warm-up. I always have to do a passing drill with Jade Cross before we go into any kind of extensive warm up. There used to be a little group of us; Emma [Cross], Jade and Josie Smith as well. It used to be a little four of us, but the other two have left us now, so it's just me and Jade who always have to pass the ball to each other before a game on a Sunday, and then when we go into our lines for the warm-up. I'm always at the front of one of the queues, and Robbo is always behind me, and we always do a little fist bump before every game.
Game mode
For me, a good warm up is key. Most of the time I just want to play and get on with the game, because at that point, I'm always ready, especially if it's a long journey. I like to train as I play, so a good warm-up, with good intensity, is really important. But also it’s good that we’re all together as a squad, we’re good at riling each other up, and getting positive vibes around the group.
Post-match plans
After a home game or an away game that’s close, I will always go to my dad's on a Sunday evening after a game, and usually he makes a good chicken dinner. If I’m not at my dad's, it will be some sort of takeaway, just to get some food back on board. After a match, you’re so hungry, so you don't really care about the calories at that point, so if you're going to have a cheat meal, then Sunday's the best day to have it. But I do love a chicken dinner after a game as well.
Switching off
For the majority of the Sunday, whether you've won or lost, it’s always on your mind – even more so if you've lost. I always like have a little debrief with my parents on how they thought I played. I could have had the worst game in the world and my mum will always say I played amazing, so that's always nice. But because we all have to go to work on a Monday morning, you have to get over it quickly. Although if we lose I’m usually still in a mood on a Monday, but fortunately that hasn’t happened too many times in my Wolves career!
This article originally featured in Wolves' official 2025/26 matchday programme. Last season's programmes are still available to purchase online through retailers Curtis Sports.
