Emiliano Marcondes: Norwich forward says mental health awareness is important

Emiliano Marcondes: Norwich forward says mental health awareness is important


Norwich are 12th in the Championship, six points adrift of the play-off places, having lost their past two games against Sheffield United and Leeds United and failed to produce an on-target goal attempt in either.

“Football is very much about highs and lows. The challenge for us is about staying level-headed and even during those highs and lows,” said Matt Miller, the club’s senior performance psychologist.

“My role is about supporting players, both from a wellbeing standpoint, but also from a performance standpoint.

“(It’s) behind the scenes, to a certain degree, I’m certainly not front and centre but providing players with support as and when they might need it.

“It’s about helping them understand what their best looks like from a behaviour standpoint, and if they can develop awareness of that, hopefully they can connect with that and demonstrate those behaviours on a consistent basis.”

He added: “The department has grown from one member of staff to four. I’m very fortunate to work at a football club that really believes that psychology is really important to helping our players and staff perform at their best.”

It is an invaluable resource for the playing squad as they look to find ways to improve and relaunch their push for the end-of-season play-offs.

“I don’t really think too much about not having a shot on target (in the past two games). It’s about building the right attacks and that’s what we’re trying to do,” Marcondes added.

“It’s been (because of) a lack of timing and quality in the final moments, and a bit more composure, that’s something I’ve been a little frustrated about as an attacking player. It has been something that I also look into when I watch the games back, see where I can be better and improve the team.”



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