Have you ever taken time to think about the mindset you want in your next match?   And when I say think…I mean REALLY think. I mean REALLY REALLY think.   Do it now. Create a pitch in your mind. Put yourself on it…with your team mates…with an opposition. And play! What does an outstanding mindset look like? Feel like? I ask you for the look and feel of your mindset because you can literally see it…and you can literally feel it. You can see focus and you can see distraction. You can see bravery and boldness. You can see confidence and commitment and control. You can feel intensity and ..read more

I sometimes wish it was as simple as some soccer fans would like to think! I’m often listening to soccer phone-in shows on the radio while I’m on the road coming back from a game or from training. And I hear the same frustration week in, week out. “My team aren’t playing with passion!” “Since he’s arrived he’s not shown even a bit of passion!” “She needs far more passion!” This player isn’t passionate. That player has no passion. This team is passionless. That team needs an injection of passion. I wish it was just about passion I really do. Then perhaps my job really would be simple (let alone ..read more

I’d like you to use your imagination. I’d like you to close your eyes and visualise yourself entering the mind and body of Ronaldo. But in doing so I don’t want you to pick any old game or training session as Ronaldo. I want you to project an image of yourself as Ronaldo on 11th April 2018, playing against Juventus in the semi final of the Champions League. And I don’t want you envisage making one of his marauding runs, or skilful plays that leave the opposition for dead. I want you to put yourself in the 97th minute of that game. Right at the bitter end. And I don’t even want you to think abo ..read more

In my book Soccer Brain I recommend players adopt a technique I call BAM. BAM is an acronym for Body Action Move. This idea is designed to help players compete with greater consistency – to rid themselves of the plague of inconsistency – the ultimate frustration for every coach at any level of the game. Football will always be played with fluctuation. That is the way humans work, that is the way the nervous system is designed. Mood can flip in the moment. Motivation can rise and fall daily. The brain and body sometimes feel anti-zone, anti high performance. Sometimes feeling great as you walk ..read more

I’m currently reading the new Tiger Woods biography. One paragraph that grabbed me relates to the 2000 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville….and specifically to the mental preparation of a little known American golfer called Bob May. Bob May had been a very good teenage golfer in Southern California when Tiger Woods himself was growing up. But there ended the similarities. May went on to become a PGA Tour player, albeit a journeyman professional. Tiger Woods went onto become…Tiger Woods! During the PGA Championship in 2000 Bob May played outstanding golf. And on the Saturday ni ..read more

As you’ve probably noticed I talk about body language a lot…specifically its importance to your soccer. I tweet about body language everyday. I’ve referred to body language time and again in my books and articles. In my opinion body language is where its at when it comes to the mental side of the game! But why? Well, allow me to explain… When I use the term body language I’m not just talking about ‘body language’ in the traditional sense. I’m not just referring to the notion of holding yourself confidently, and standing tall and proud. I’m not just talking about displaying positive gestures an ..read more

“Ok, I’m want to train to the best of my ability today. The most important thing is I train to learn…I train to improve… How am I going to do this? I have to make my training INTENTIONAL – this means it has to be interesting, intense, integrated and internalised. What does this mean? Interesting and intense – I need to set a goal to grab my focus of attention. I need to make this session interesting. I’m going to work on using my left foot more. So I’m going to try to receive the ball more often with a different body shape so I can control the ball and pass with my left foot. By doing this I’m ..read more

Things have to change. Soccer players must take charge of their training. They must own it. They must walk onto the pitch with a plan in mind – one they’ve made themselves, one that is self-driven, and one that they can keenly reflect upon at the end of the training session. Too many soccer players train passively. They let their coaches take charge of their development. They train for training sakes. They think just because they’ve turned up they’re going to get better. Nothing could be further from the truth. To improve in soccer you have to practice on purpose. You have to train with intent ..read more

Soccer players must train with intention. They must walk out onto the training pitch with a mind focused on improving. They must engage their brain so the skills they’re learning stick…and stick hard! This sounds obvious right? This sounds like something every footballer would do. But in my experience this doesn’t necessarily happen. Too often footballers are willing and able to train with physical intensity, but lack the kind of mental intensity that helps them develop skill. Let me be clear, it is mental intensity and NOT physicality during training that will separate a player from his or he ..read more