TWO Borders wheelchair curlers are hoping to help Scotland strike gold this week.

And their psychologist believes they have the belief to beat the opposition.

David Melrose from Duns and Gary Logan from Cornhill-on-Tweed are part of the five-strong Scottish team who take to the ice at the National Curling Academy in Stirling.

The man who helps the team retain focus on the ice believes the team’s families could prove key to home success.

Misha Botting is a psychologist at the sportscotland institute of sport and has been working with athletes for more than a decade.

Having worked closely with swimmers such as Hannah Miley and Robbie Renwick in preparation for major games, he is now primarily working with Scotland’s curlers.

Aileen Neilson will captain Scotland's team as 12 countries battle it out in the World Wheelchair Curling Championships.

Success on the ice will ultimately come down to Aileen, David, Gary Logan, Robert McPherson and Hugh Nibloe’s preparation and performance in the showpiece event.

But Misha believes that sporting success can be a family affair and dedicates a lot of time to helping athletes’ families understand the important role they can play.

He said: “The message is consistent that members of the athletes’ family have to get their heads around the fact that they are members of the team.

“In curling, and in all sports, you have immediate members of the team. Most parents or partners don’t see themselves as extended members of the team who can have quite a significant influence on the performance of the athlete and what happens on the field of play.

“It is very important that the parents and close family are unconditionally supportive regardless of the outcome of the competition. The athlete has to feel that they will be loved and supported regardless of the level of success.

“In athletes’ minds they constantly want to win, that can lead to some anxiety around the outcome of a competition. If the families are able to provide unconditional support it can ease that anxiety before and after competitions.

“The athletes go through a tremendous amount of training and preparation for what can be a once in a lifetime event, like an Olympics.

“Every family member can feel that pressure and level of expectation. I have to sit down with them and get across that in these extraordinary circumstances that support you provide for those that you love should be consistent and doesn’t change.”