Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is taking every possible step to strengthen his Manchester United side mentally as well as physically.
Ten Hag took over a broken group of players who lost every single away game between March and May before he took over, and then were hammered 4-0 by Brentford.
The Dutchman has done an excellent job of turning this around, with United rising up to fifth in the table and showing real resilience, keeping a number of clean sheets.
It has now emerged that Erik ten Hag has brought in sports psychologists to give his players extra help.
United players get psychological help
The Mail report United have called on ‘mind coaches’ from the Netherlands, working for a company called the Talent Academy Group.
They are led by Rainier Koers, who made the trip to Spain with United’s squad for the recent training camp and friendly matches with Cadiz and Real Betis.
Ten Hag wants particularly to be able to help United’s players returning from the World Cup, some of who are dealing with hard losses.
Casemiro described Brazil’s exit as his worst ever football defeat, while Raphael Varane reached the World Cup final and lost on penalties.
Who is Rainier Koers
So who is Rainier Koers, the man given inside access to Manchester United’s squad?
Koers is a former sales manager who went onto become a life coach in 2018, who says on LinkedIn: “Helping people makes me very happy.”
His current role is described as a ‘Senior Performance Coach’, and he has worked in this position with The Talent Academy Group for nearly three years.
Koers has a private account on Instagram with just 190 followers.
Writing on his personal website, Koers says: “As a Life Coach, I guide people who get stuck in their lives due to major events.”
He pledges to help with ‘Stress, lack of self-confidence, depression, physical complaints, the feeling that you are ‘locked’.
These are all areas which can apply to footballers at different stages of their careers, even throughout the season.
Erik ten Hag knows how competitive the Premier League is, and what pressure Manchester United’s players are under, in the spotlight of the world’s biggest club.
Every little edge can help the club, and while every result won’t be perfect, learning to deal with adversity is key, and being able to bounce back from setbacks.
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