The goalkeeper - the most rewarding yet cruel position in football. You can be on cloud nine in the 89th minute and then suddenly a mistake in the 90th brings you back down to earth with a bang.
It takes a certain type of character to become a goalkeeper. They have to be headstrong and ready to deal with criticism, mostly from people who won’t have the first clue as to what they are talking about.
As goalkeeper coaches, we really do. We've been there, and we understand the psychological pressures of potentially going from hero to villain and back again.
A good goalkeeper coach plays such a vital role in helping keepers handle this pressure. More often than not, we will be the only member of a team's coaching staff who can relate to what they’re going through.
Here are six tips on how you can tap into the minds of your last lines of defence...
PREPARE THEM WELL
Focus and concentration are two key factors that contribute to a good performance. The building blocks are put in place long before the game's first whistle.
At City, this begins in training when we are working on our in and out of possession principles, how we can exploit the opposition and the ways in which they will look to exploit us.
Ensuring clarity during this period allows us to set out the process points which, as a goalkeeping unit, we need to aid the team's performance.
Keeping that focus throughout the game is important, too. For me, this links in with how good a communicator your keepers are. In the games where they are less busy and not touching the ball as much, they need to keep themselves mentally engaged.
“More often than not, you're the only one who can relate to what they're going through."
They can do this from their starting positions and engagement lines to feel closer to the game, but for me, the big thing is communication.
Goalkeepers talking to their first and second line (defence and midfield), letting them know where players are, telling them to push up, drop back, shuffle right or left etc are all things that can keep shot-stoppers mentally in the game.
BACK THEM UP
Self-belief is one of the main qualities a goalkeeper needs. Not just belief in their own ability, but belief in what you and they are trying to achieve together.
A positive goalkeeper, who can remain that way even when the chips are down, will breed tremendous amounts of confidence in the rest of the team, who will trust their keeper more.
I never played at the highest level but I played in youth and senior games where I made mistakes (I’ve even let one through my legs at Wembley but we won’t talk about that!). But no matter whether I'm joining in a training session or playing for my team on a Saturday, I try to be as confident as I can be and be as positive as possible.
This extends to my coaching. A positive goalkeeper shows great communication, unwavering self-belief and leads by example. A goalkeeping coach should be no different.