Elite Inner Performance

Elite Inner Performance Helping footballers improve their game on and off the pitch.

22/09/2026

I've had conversations with some players recently who are going against their instincts nearly 100% of the time.

Football isn't fun anymore.

Where you used to be over the park for hours and hours, loving it, enjoying it

It hasn't become that place anymore. It's become a place of survival.

The aim has become just to get through it, survive, not make a mistake, and if you avoid criticism, it's a win.

And when I hear this, it destroys my soul.

Why? Because you used to love football, but now it's not a place of freedom and expression.

It's become a place of fear, tension, and worry.

This is why me and created the .xi

We were fed up of players trying to survive, and now we want to make them thrive.

To bring back the joy of football again.

And guess what happens to your performance? It completely changes.

You’re waiting to have a good game so you can enjoy yourself.

What if enjoying yourself helped you have a good game?

If you're a pro, apply to join the Elite XI, and we will have a 1-hour strategy call where we will map everything out for completely free.

If you want to then join us and work with us, great. If you don't, great.

Our aim is to help.

Click the link in our bio to apply.

19/09/2026

This will make put your head in a pickle jar before todays game 🤯

17/09/2026

Me and Luke have created an audiobook for everyone inside .xi

Here’s a sneak preview on the chapter I think will resonate with you most.

JUDGEMENT..

Have a sneaky listen, if it hits home, DM me

15/09/2026

A lot of the time, pros ring me and they say, "I've been doing mindset work, and I don't feel any different." I ask, "What have you been doing?" The answer normally is, "Listening to podcasts and reading books." That's great. I love that, but it's not going to get you the results that you desire.

How do I know this? I used to do it.

I used to think I was doing the mental work by listening to podcasts and reading books, and then wondering why I didn't feel any different.

The reason why is because it was just information.

You need to put things into practical use. It has to be applicable. It is about being held accountable and actually doing the reps.

You do the reps on the grass, but the mental reps you probably don't do. For me, what are the mental reps?

It's actually a mixture of things

is having a supportive group of people around you who have been through the same things and are going through the same things that you do, to realise that, actually, you're not alone and everyone feels the same way that you do

It's being held accountable to a high level.

It's not just listening. It's actually doing, because that's where true confidence comes from.

Is having tools in different situations. When you have a problem, you might need a spanner, whereas what you've been using previously is a hammer.

And that's why I think mindset work needs to be not just theoretical; it has to be practical too.

And that's why doing something like this coffee challenge is so important.

It's understanding that you don't need confidence, you need courage. Courage is the other side of confidence. When you do it, even if you get rejected, you go, "Oh, I had the courage to do that," and that builds confidence. The more you expose yourself to it and the more you do it, the more confidence you build.

Most players don't realise that confidence is a skill.

Most players don't realise that you can gain confidence through failure.

Most players rely on temporary confidence, scoring goals, praise, and a comment from the manager.

True confidence is having confidence when you're not getting any of that.

DM me, pro, and I'll send you in the right direction.

There's a saying in football, and it's "train like you play." But a lot of times, I turn this around and say, "Play like...
12/09/2026

There's a saying in football, and it's "train like you play."

But a lot of times, I turn this around and say, "Play like you train."

The reason is that a lot of players are great in training, and then, when it comes to match day, they worry about themselves.

What if I make a mistake? What if I cost the team? What if I...

The instinct is to play safe, go safe, survive, and get through it.

That's not why you played football.

That's not why you started football in the first place.

You played to express.

That's when you're at your best.

Like being a kid in a park: no fear, no judgement, just immersed in the moment

You did that all throughout your career, and then you get to be a pro, and something shifts.

Now there's something to lose, something to hang on to.

So instead of doing all the things that got you to where you are, you hide.

Why? Because fear has gotten the best of you.

Where football used to be played, the white lines have become your prison.

And if you get through the match unscathed, no judgement. Happy days.

And it's the same players who call me up and say, "I want to get to the higher levels. I want to play in the Premier League."

To which I say, "Do you think you're going to get to the Premier League whilst trying to avoid judgement and just surviving? Good luck."

That's why we have to change the way you think and the way you feel.

The systems and strategies you're using at the moment aren't working.

Because if you have the same thoughts, you have the same feelings, the same actions, the same behaviours, and the same results

If you change them, and we do this by flipping the way you see things

You have new thoughts, which create new feelings, new actions, new behaviours, and new results.

We're doing this already with the players we're working with.

If you want to be the next one, click the link in our bio to apply to work with us.

Best caption wins a Blue Peter Badge 😂
08/09/2026

Best caption wins a Blue Peter Badge 😂

03/09/2026

Speaking to players this week, I've realised that they're making things all about them.

And then, when they've made it all about them, they've increased the pressure on themselves, and they've got stuck in their own head.

Sometimes making it all about you is a good thing.

I remember talking to Ben Foster on one of my podcasts, I need to save this team today, they need me…

But as always, what works for one doesn't work for someone else.

So after a few chats with players this week, when they've been so focused on themselves, I've changed the focus to turn it on others.

This is what massively helped me in my public speaking.

I made it about the audience.

Not about me.

Start helping your teammates out by communicating more.

Start having conversations in the changing rooms.

Because it would take the focus off yourself

And I know this: most players are petrified.

They're petrified of making mistakes. They're petrified of getting criticised.

So it helps you, but it helps them too.

As always, just try it on and see if it helps you.

If you want to work with me and this season, DM me or click the link in my bio. I don't say this lightly. We will change everything for you.

02/09/2026

Most players get help when they're struggling to deal with the pressure…

When they're struggling to deal with judgement…

When they're out of form, and that's when they react.

Usually what you do is you work harder.

More hours on the grass.

Extra reps in the gym.

And instead of getting better, you get worse.

One thing I've learned about a lot of elite players, like David Raya who I interviewed last week is that they do the work early.

They do the mindset work with a psychologist or a performance coach before they need the mindset work.

They get help when they're in a good place, not when they're in a bad place.

So when the bad place comes (and it will, because it's football), you will make mistakes. You will be out of the team. You'll have a time when you're not at a club. You'll be injured. You'll be out of form.

You've got the tools to deal with it.

If you do want to take your game to the next level, then come and work with me and in the .xi.

We're already working with 20 pros who are taking their game to the next level.

If you want to know what's involved, click the link in our bio or send us a DM and we can have a chat.

29/08/2026

I’ve got a new microphone so I’m using it!

Sometimes when I do podcasts or trainings or talks, I have the perfect plan of how it's going to go, but sometimes it doesn't go the way I want it to.

People ask questions. Conversations change, but you have to adapt to it.

If you expect things to go a certain way, they hardly ever do.

And this is a mistake I've seen players make in this week.

They're trying to control outcomes to control outcomes. Good luck.

It's impossible to control outcomes. You can only control processes.

The game's not going to go the way you want it to accept it.

Adapt.

I've had players contact me recently, and they're losing their heads when the game doesn't go the way they want it to or expect it to.

They're expecting certainty in an uncertain game.

Again, good luck!

There is no certainty.

Accepting this will massively help you. In today's game, accept that things aren't going to go the way you expect or want them to.

Trying to control the outcome isn't going to help you in any way.

If you want help with this, come and join me and Luke in the Elite XI.

5 LESSONS FROM 2 HOURS WITH DAVID RAYAI’m fortunate enough to speak to some unreal people in football, but sometimes I f...
27/08/2026

5 LESSONS FROM 2 HOURS WITH DAVID RAYA

I’m fortunate enough to speak to some unreal people in football, but sometimes I forget just how lucky I am to spend time with people who are world class at what they do.

Here are 5 things I took from two hours with David Raya:

1. Do the work before you need the work.

Most players work on their mentality when confidence has gone, they’re out of the team or they’re struggling.

Raya does the work while things are going well.

Before his baby was born, he spent months changing his sleep routine so when the baby arrived during the title run-in, he was already prepared.

2. Deliberately seek discomfort.

Moving countries without speaking the language. Dropping into National League football because U21 football had become comfortable. Ice baths first thing in the morning simply because he doesn’t want to do them.

He doesn’t tolerate discomfort. He goes looking for it.

Pressure isn’t something that suddenly happens on a Saturday. He practises being uncomfortable.

3. Mistakes don’t change his identity.

He made a mistake in the play-off final for Brentford from being aggressive off his line.

The easy response? Become safer.

Instead, Thomas Frank told him to play even higher the following season.

He learned from the mistake without becoming fearful because mistakes are feedback, not failures.

4. He interprets pressure differently.

Where someone else says nerves, he says excitement.

Where someone sees uncertainty as threatening, he sees it as part of why he loves football.

Same situation. Completely different story.

5. His ability to spin the story is elite.

People told him he was too short to be a goalkeeper.

His story?

Being shorter is my advantage. I’m quicker, more explosive and more powerful.

That borders on delusional optimism, which he basically admits himself 😂

But at the highest level, that story serves him.

And despite everything he’s achieved, he was unbelievably humble.

I offered him my book afterwards and he’d only take it if I signed and dedicated it to him.

Top-class guy.

Even if he does play for Arsenal. 😂

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