Manchester United mayhem shows how psychology is just as important as physical training

We can all agree that Manchester United are not as good as Manchester City. But they shouldn't have looked beaten before kick-off.

"It's a lack of belief. When you don't believe on the pitch, you can't win games: that's unacceptable."

So says Erik ten Hag after Manchester United's blows on Sunday. But is it really? That's what beat them? Or was it just a better trained and more skilful Manchester City?

Lack of courage, conviction or confidence is often cited as the reason for a team's underperformance. The United manager basically suggested after the game that they went out onto the pitch thinking they were going to lose. And that's exactly what it looked like.

If such claims are true, it means that a footballer's psychology matters a lot more than anything else. Forget all the training and tactics, if your head isn't right, you might as well give up from the start. And if so, surely psychology should take priority in training.

None of us can imagine what it must be like to go out and do our job with thousands of people watching, clapping and laughing. I felt really sorry for Harry Maguire during England's game against Germany. To be wrong is to be human but to do so in front of 90,000 people, well, it's kind of torture, surely. The mental resilience needed to not collapse in a heap of tears must be immense. I don't think any of us have the first idea what it is.

16 conclusions as Manchester City flatters Manchester United by only beating them 6-3

But there is clearly a marriage between attitude, courage and faith, and the skills of your feet and the sense of your training. Remember when Wayne Rooney could, if he was confident, do almost anything with the ball, but when he was out of shape the ball would bounce off him like an alien. It's the huge difference what's in your head.

The pressure on the players is greater than we can imagine. Inhibition must be the natural instinct that the player must climb on. The fear of making a mistake prevents you from being creative and makes you play the easy ball. You mentally focus on coming criticism if you do something wrong. It would be hard not to.

It's amazing how the commentators and pundits are such great experts in the science of body language. "His body language isn't good" is the cliché and it might be a bit of a stretch to say you can tell by the shape of someone's body, or how they stand or run, if they're ready for that today, though, we all think we can tell when a player lacks commitment or confidence, right?

In fact, if you think about it, a lot of the game's language is centered around metaphysics rather than hardware. It's about being brave, or confident, or having self-confidence, or being afraid. None of those things you can't grab in your hand or stick around after practice to learn.

The human brain is a complex thing that football, until recently, classified into two categories: 'sparkling' or 'silent'. Arm around the shoulder or kick ass. This is the philosophy of PFM.

Of course, that's crude, but it at least acknowledges the need to understand where someone's head is in order to get the most out of them, even if the issues are inevitably deeper and more complex and not can be sorted out with a session at the casino or pub.

Are clubs and managers focusing enough on the mental side of the game? Are the players, and the culture in which they exist, open to letting them? Although it is now at least recognized as a factor influencing the way someone plays and clubs have psychologists, the pathways to being able to use such a service may be less accessible. In a piss-take culture, who wants to admit to seeing a shrink? Add to that the innate reluctance of men to discuss their feelings and you may reject any help.

Men's football is inevitably a macho culture, where acknowledging weakness is seen not as strength but as huge weakness. And while that may change a bit, psychotherapy is still seen as a "help" as a cure for disease, rather than just being part of your fitness regimen. Because it should be.

If they're spending three hours a day practicing, there's probably good reason to have a few hours a week working on the mental side of the game.

Now, if Manchester United had more of these metaphysical qualities that Ten Hag clearly didn't see, would they have had more success against City? Undoubtedly. That doesn't mean they would have won, but humiliation would have been less likely. Obviously, if you leave the rear four exposed, no...