🎤 Dr Victor Thompson - Exclusive Interview

Interview June 2024

In today’s interview, we’re joined by leading sports psychologist Dr. Victor Thompson. With a distinguished career spanning 10 years in sports psychology and 17 years in the NHS, Dr. Thompson offers unique insights into the mental challenges faced by athletes across football, the top players and their future in tennis, and the new wave of promotional bought played out in boxing, including figures like Jake Paul, Tyson Fury, Rory McIlroy, Andy Murray, and more.

Sport

• Jake Paul could become complacent due to Mike Tyson’s injury
• Tyson Fury was preparing to lose to Usyk – he might do the same again
• Arne Slot needs to dismiss Jurgen Klopp’s legacy to survive as next manager at Liverpool
• Rory McIlroy will have lasting doubts after his US Open capitulation
• Major championship drought is weighing on the mind of Rory McIlroy
• Rory McIlroy will be stewing over his errors during break from golf
• Rafa Nadal is winding down to a satisfying retirement
• Andy Murray’s body and mind don’t match
• Andy Murray would’ve retired already if it wasn't for his winning mindset

England

• England fans go through the same feelings as the players in disappointment
• England fans need to put things into perspective to avoid summer heartbreak
• International defeats at tournaments hurt differently
• It’s hard to know the difference between what Southgate is saying and thinking

Sports Psychologist Dr Victor Thompson has spent 10 years as a sports psychologist following 17 years as a clinical psychologist in the NHS. Dr Thompson studied at the University of Sheffield where he achieved his psychology bachelor's degree with honours. He later received a doctorate in clinical psychology at the University College London. More recently he achieved a post-graduate degree in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy at the University of Oxford. 

Jake Paul could become complacent due to Mike Tyson’s injuryYouTube: Jake Paul

If Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson is rescheduled after his injury, it could make Jake Paul feel quite cocky and even be quite complacent, which could be dangerous. 

Should Tyson still have the power ti be able to do some damage, then of course it makes a lot of sense for Paul to continue to train and prepare and to be in your best shape for the fight. It's too late to readjust when you're punched hard by somebody to then think, actually, this is a threat.

Mike Tyson might not be as fit, he may not be as agile, but if he can still punch hard enough to do damage or knock you out, then you better make sure that you're mentally and physically prepared.

So they say age is a number, of course age has an impact, but I'm sure there's some quality that still exists within Tyson that needs to be taken seriously.

The best thing for the fighter is to take everyone seriously because it gives them the best chance of winning and having the opportunities in their own career. No matter what other people might say or that medical incident that you assume might hamper a rival.

Tyson Fury was preparing to lose to Oleksandr Usyk – he might do the same again

Before the fight it felt as though Tyson Fury was almost spinning it that if he did lose, it wasn't going to be because of him. It was going to be because people wanted Ukraine to win and Uysk to win for Ukraine.

I thought in the build up, maybe he's preparing for if he loses, so it's not on him. That it was always going to be unfair. So he could still use that. He could apply that.

If he sees it as I could have won, I almost won. If I change these things, I'll be better prepared, I'll be a better fighter, more able to win, then it's not so much of a problem. 

If you see that you're outboxed by somebody and you don't have a plan for how to remedy that or improve that, then you've got a problem. 

But I think he's pretty mentally tough when it comes to his ability and he's very good at seeing what he wants to see, thinking what he wants to think. So I don't think it's going to be too much of a challenge for him to step back in the ring and go toe to toe the second time.

Arne Slot needs to dismiss Jurgen Klopp’s legacy to survive at Liverpool

Arne Slot mustn't go in at Liverpool and try to be the new Jurgen Klopp. Don't try to follow the formula or be the person that you're not, because you're not him, it's you. 

So if you believe in what you've got to offer, if you believe you're at the right club, you've got the right skill set, that's important. 

So not trying to copy, replace, or be somebody else is the first step. You are valid yourself, you deserve to be there, you're gonna do things differently, that's fine, and you're gonna communicate that to other people and you're going to ask for time to have an influence. 

So you've got a bit of a grace period to bed in your style, get that trust and get that buy-in with other people and show them that you are the leader and you can lead them places and that they deserve and want to follow.

You've had your personal formula that led you to get this position and he needs to remember that - you've had success and you've got your way of working.

If there's things specific to the club that you join that work that you can incorporate, great. I wouldn't be going there thinking, I know I need to change and be the person that I've just replaced because they were successful. Because you'll spend all your time that you're given until you're sacked trying to do that and you won't work it out.

Rory McIlroy will have lasting doubts after his US Open capitulation

Gary Yee//shutterstock

There's been a few years between majors for Rory McIlroy and he's got so much more experience, so much more training, so many more hours that he's put in, different staff, different inputs he's had.

He's won before and he didn't win on that day. So what was it about that day? The doubts will be there in the future as a consequence.

Did something interrupted him. Did he think of the importance? Did he think of the outcome? Did he think about how he shouldn't throw it away or he couldn't miss this putt rather than committing and going for it? 

There seemed to be a difference in his process of what he usually follows and the outcome we saw. It doesn't seem like it was random and that's going to be tough to find back from and to not be haunted by in the future because he already had so much experience. 

How could he be better prepared? How could he make sure it doesn't happen in the future? As a psychologist, I'd be working with him to really make sure that was the case, but it would be pretty difficult for the player to do without either dismissing it as he doesn't care. 

That's going to be really difficult to do, if not impossible. Or doing some purposeful work on it so it doesn't create a negative legacy for the future.

Major championship drought is weighing on the mind of Rory McIlroy

When it comes to major championships for Rory McIlroy, it’s about how you're able to handle the occasion and to keep your attention. There is adrenaline, nerves, feeling a bit jittery, the body feeling a bit different.

It's to see that as fine, understandable, okay, not this feels different and that it’s a bad thing, different is not an indication of me fluffing it. It's to be prepared to interpret those sensations in a helpful way, not in an unhelpful way.

A break might lead to Rory McIlroy stewing over his errors

A break for Rory McIlroy could be a positive, but if he's going to take time out and he's going to just stew on it and it's going to ferment, then it's not so good. 

He needs to do something different, changing your focus, reflecting, learning on it, being determined, knowing how you've learned, knowing how things will be different next time, trusting in that can be great. Not just like taking a break, sitting on a beach and being depressed about missed opportunities and how you threw it away.

So a break of some type or a change in some type, good, but how's he going to use it? How's he going to come back better, stronger, mentally more able? That's what's important.

Rafa Nadal is winding down to a satisfying retirement

As we've seen over the last few seasons with Rafa Nadal, he's played less, he's been more choosy about the tournaments. He's also had more time probably attending to his bodily scars or challenges. So he's probably been winding down a little bit anyway in terms of the amount of play in training and competitions and tournaments. 

I think if a sportsman knows it's coming towards the end, they can see that there's a certain timeline or likely timeline for that, then they can be more mentally prepared prepared for it. 

So I think it's easier for somebody like Rafael Nadal to retire than somebody who's either being cut by their sport because of funding or they've had a big injury that's cut their career short and they've had a career ending injury. 

So I would hope that for Nadal, he's got things lined up. You know, he's very famous. He's got a lot of connections to have plans for what he will do next and he will see those as good opportunities. Of course, he may have some regrets about his career. 

He may miss the competition, miss the absolute focus to be ready, prepared, switched on for matches and tournaments. So that's difficult to replicate no matter how busy you are in a coaching or a business type of career afterwards. Yeah, it's seen as a good transition.

Recognizing one's achievements as well and having satisfaction for the journey that you've been on for 20 plus years. That should be there for sure.

Yeah, and of course we all know when we're in pain that you're aware of the pain, you're aware of your limitations, you know, your body's telling you to be wary of doing certain things, moving in certain ways, or it limits your capacity to do the workouts, to play in certain ways. So you've got those almost continuous reminders that you're not as able, as free as you used to be.

Andy Murray’s body and mind don’t match

Neale Cousland / shutterstock

He seems to be as driven, have the motivation, have the keenness to play and continue at the top level. That's tough because you've got that desire and capacity mismatch, you know, the desire and the motivation side, but the body's not quite there to enable you to deliver. And of course, in the past you could, you did. So that's difficult. 

But I think it's great when players can continue to play at a lower level, that they work with what they've got and they can still get satisfaction. Of course, for the media or fans, it's difficult not to see them at the same level. 

For them, it's difficult not to be at the same level. But sometimes people enjoy the sport, enjoy the play. And if he's physically able to play at an acceptable level for him or that he sees the progress or the potential for progress, then that's great too. 

However, sometimes we see in sport that athletes continue too long, it's not quite a death by a thousand cuts, but they seem to not want to give up. 

I think that's because the sport is so important to them, that they get a lot from it or they don't have a lot of great alternatives outside the sport or outside that competitive element of playing the sport. 

Andy Murray would’ve retired already if it wasn't for his winning mindset

Andy Murray has weathered the storm and found ways to problem solve injuries, to bounce back, to work around things while also enjoying the competition, enjoying the focus, enjoying the support. 

There's a lot of things that he does day to day that keeps him in the game that a lot of us might not have.

England

England fans go through the same feelings as the players in disappointment

England fans and players are all collectively hoping for something and also fearing something that might happen. As a group, we celebrate together and we commiserate together, we feel the highs together, we feel the lows together. 

We are feeling similar things as supporters to the players. The players are probably feeling it more intensely because they contributed to it and it's their dream, their career and there's consequences for them, less so for fans.

But we do go through the same emotions, maybe a bit less intensely, but for some people probably more intensely. So it varies, but it's a shared experience. 

And that's part of being within a group, being within society, being within sporting supporter groups that give us a sense of that belonging and connection with the highs and the lows and following that journey together.

England fans need to put things into perspective to avoid summer heartbreak

For fans, they need to remember that it's important but it's not everything. It's similar for players. Also as a fan, you can't really contribute to how it goes. You're not responsible for how it goes.

So yeah, you try to celebrate the highs, but you see it's a bit variable. This is all part and parcel of supporting teams. Sometimes they win, sometimes they lose, sometimes they win unexpectedly or lose unexpectedly. 

It's great to be collectively with other people, to follow something together, to be part of something, to have that identity with other people, the other supporters with your team. But there's other aspects to life. 

There's gonna be other games, there's gonna be other things that you do that day or in that week. There's other things that are going on. So try to put it in perspective a little bit sooner perhaps and see it as part of life's rich experiences.

International defeats at tournaments hurt differently

International defeats can hurt differently because they can be more social, you feel the vibe in the room, the emotion in the room, and that's why watching it in a pub with fellow supporters is a different experience than watching it at home with a couple of mates or home alone.

Having those shared experiences makes things more intense. You also have the opportunity to celebrate together and to commiserate, get some support together.

I think that's a really good thing about humanity is that we can share things together, the highs and the lows and tap into that. So it's important.

It’s hard to know the difference between what Gareth Southgate is saying and thinking

Image: Shutterstock/Ivica Drusany

It's always difficult to know the difference between how Gareth Southgate’s really thinking and feeling and what he says and how he behaves and what he does.

He's been in football many years as a player and then as a manager, as a coach perhaps, and you learn to talk the talk. You have to in order to survive. 

It's ideal to appear confident and that you've got a plan and you're going to be okay. It's important that the media hears that. It's important that your team hears that. It's important that you hear yourself saying it. 

Sometimes excuses will leak out and it's good to blame other things or other people. It's good to also see that some things are changeable or some things are temporary. So they won't be a factor next time for the next game.

As a leader, you need to be displaying that steadfastness and that confidence. Otherwise people will doubt you even more and then believe less in what you're trying to do as a team.