Talk of Jose Mourinho being unhappy with the attitude and commitment of his Manchester United players has risen over the past week or so, as it often does when the Portuguese manager finds himself under the spotlight.
Ask questions of Mourinho, and soon enough there’ll be mirrored questions about his players, it’s happened at Chelsea and at Real Madrid and this isn’t the first time such a turnaround comes at Old Trafford.
But, rather than just being distraction, although that always helps, Mourinho probably does feel he could get more mentally from his squad. Always.
And therefore it’s no surprise Manchester United have started a collaboration with Danish sports psychologists Carsten Hvid Larsen and Kristoffer Henriksen.
The pair, as proudly reported by Danish newspaper BT, are experts in the field of creating a good training environment for elite athletes. Henriksen and Hvid Larsen have just visited Manchester and there’s been something of an exchange of expertise.
Manchester United benefit from the Danish pair’s previous research, whilst Henriksen and Hvid Larsen learn even more to help in the future.
Hvid Larsen is quoted as saying: “United is very interested in optimising the club’s training environment, so they can facilitate the transition from talent to elite, and we have just researched it. Both in other talented environments, but also in professional football. Therefore, we were visiting to exchange experience, inspire and discuss with each other in terms of optimising their environment.“It’s very exciting for us to get an insight into a new environment. Manchester United is a huge club internationally. It is both interesting research and practicality in terms of gaining insight into how such a big club works. We are very happy for their openness, and the intention of both camps is clear that we will work together.”
Mourinho will take any advantage he can get, especially if it involves helping getting his squad, and the club generally, work on the best mental level.
