Confidence coach Tom Bushnell has worked with teams from the Premier League to the Blue Square South, including AFC Wimbledon’s reserve team, managed by Dons legend Marcus Gayle. Tom’s work has been featured across the national media.

No matter how well I play I still approach every game negatively, thinking I’m going to play badly. How can I stay positive?
Andy Hunter, via e-mail 
First thing to do is to change your emotional state. What do I mean by this? Well, all our thoughts and emotions are a result of the state we are in at any particular time. You need to control and manage your emotional state.

Imagine yourself on a scale of one to 10, where one means you're wracked with negative emotions and 10 means you're full of self-confidence and belief – ready for the next game and raring to go. Ask yourself where you are on the scale and you’ll probably say something like three to five.

If you want to perform at your best in training, on the pitch and in life, ask “What number do I need to be at on a scale of own to 10?” – and answer 10 or beyond!

Let's get to a 10 and beyond. If you are sitting, please stand and start jumping on the spot and focusing on times in the past when you have played brilliantly. Breath deeply, in through your nose and out through your mouth. You should start to feel a heightening in your emotional state.

Increase the vividness of the picture in your mind of the times when you played and performed at your best. Make the picture bigger and brighter in your mind. Hear the sounds around you at the time and make them louder in your mind, all the while keeping jumping on the spot.

You may start to feel like you want to shout out and celebrate at this point. Keep jumping, visualising, breathing deeply and on the count of three… one, two, three…Say YES!!! As loud as possible, say YES!!!

Keep jumping and visualising playing fantastically in your next training session and or next match, and with a big smile on your face, this time shout YES!!! Keep doing this for another minute and you will feel absolutely electric.

The more you do this, the better you will get at it and it will rewire your nervous system so you begin to feel in a peak state more often throughout the day, and ready for action whenever you need to perform.

Before every game I worry what everyone will make of my performance and I end up hiding during the game. How can I be brave?
Craig Robinson, via e-mail
The key is shifting focus and your state. Get yourself into a peak state by doing the exercise described above, and this time focus on playing the best game possible and being a real team player.

Forget yourself in playing and giving your all for the team and you won’t have time or energy to focus on anything else. After this people will have noticed how great a player you are by being the best player for all your team-mates.

Owen Hargreaves did this in the last World Cup for England; he got a lot of stick leading up to and during the opening games. By the end he was arguably England’s best player, by forgetting himself and giving his all to the team, for everyone to see.


Owen Hargreaves: now an integral part of the team

I struggle with confidence. If I do something wrong my head goes down and I can't play well. How can I combat this?
Tom Clifford, via e-mail
Confidence is all down to knowing how to manage your emotional state and having the ability to maintain and control your level of confidence.

Practise daily the exercise I taught in the answer to the first question. And very quickly you will have mastered the skill to manage and maintain your confidence levels through out the game.

One particular thing you mention is that when you make a mistake, you let your head drop. Quite simple: physically keep your head up – you'll feel better for it.

I’ve been out of football for a long time and I’m looking to get back playing, but I’m worried I’ll be rubbish. Is there anything I can do to help me play again?
Craig Sharp
Use the exercise described in the first answer. But this time visualise yourself playing well, and rehearse in your mind over and over again the things you did well when you used to play.

When we imagine something in our mind with enough emotion, the body and mind don’t know the difference. So effectively you can practise perfectly in your mind and your body will follow suit.