Psychology of football
05 June 2009
Dr Mark Nesti, a Reader in Sport Psychology in the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences at LJMU, has been recruited by Hull City FC to help them find the winning formula in the Premier League.
Dr Nesti first made headlines when he helped an injury-ravaged Michael Owen make a goal-scoring England comeback in 2007. Sam Allardyce, Newcastle’s then-manager, brought in Dr Nesti to work with Owen and the rest of the squad after previously recruiting him at Bolton Wanderers to improve the mental attitude of his players.
Working for Hull City is something of a homecoming for Dr Nesti who has childhood roots in East Yorkshire and watched the Tigers as a boy. North Yorkshire based Dr Nesti now works three days a week as a counselling sports psychologist for the team.
Commenting on the approach of Sam Allardyce and his former assistant, Hull City Manager Phil Brown, Dr Nesti commented: “I am really lucky to have come across two people in Sam and Phil who are, in my experience, unique in allowing a sports psychologist to work in complete confidence with the players.”
“What that takes on their part is massive trust. The players will not say anything worthwhile – and I don’t mean about problems as such, but I mean relating to their performance and even broader concerns in their life – if they think that information is going directly to the manager and staff.”
“This is about helping strong people get stronger. It’s helping people to trust themselves. In such a demanding environment where every element is under the magnifying glass, as it should be, that brings pressure. The approach I use is as long as you have put yourself in that situation, that pressure is positive.”
Some of his traditional work looks at aspirations and performance goals, involving physical, technical or psychological issues. Dr Nesti commented: “Sometimes it can be about confidence in the first touch, sometimes it’s on technique. It’s a self-examination and, for some people, that is difficult.”
“Confidence is massive in football. It’s also a cliché that the very best way to get confidence is to get results. The conundrum is you don’t always get the result that your performance deserves and sometimes you don’t get a result or a performance.”
Dr Mark Nesti, centre, with Hull City manager Phil Brown and players in the away dressing room before the Tigers’ match against Chelsea.
