Preston ban external support staff – but is it best policy?

‘No choice but to accept external support staff’ 

However, is it realistic or constructive to ban players from working with external support staff?

After all, this is a growing trend in the modern game – and often for good reasons.

In an article for TGG last year, Dr Ben Rosenblatt (former Lead Men’s Physical Performance Coach for England) and James Collins (former Arsenal Head of Nutrition) laid out some of these reasons.

The duo had recently set up a private consultancy called 292 Performance.

“A player’s career could include seven or more transfers to different clubs, each having different resources for performance support, so it seems sensible to have constant support throughout,” they wrote. 

“Within the club environment, external support may also be required due to a lack of resource and also a lack of internal staff time to deliver deep, individualised work.”

There was often a specific demand from loan players (like Jebbison), they said.

“Fully supporting loan players from a physical performance and nutrition perspective can also be difficult, meaning ongoing support and communication from the parent club could be limited,” the duo wrote. 

They concluded: “We believe players seeking external support should actually be seen as a positive because, fundamentally, they are aiming to take ownership of their preparation and recovery to maximise performance.

“There is an opportunity for an external service to provide a trusted extension to the club’s existing support team.”

Former PSG, Lille and Lyon Head of Performance Martin Buchheit concurred.

In an article for TGG in December 2023, he wrote: “The reality is that we often have no choice but to accept and adapt to players forming their own support teams and bringing in external specialists” and that “opposing a player’s choice in this matter can be counter-productive.”

Banning external support staff could create the risk that players continue to see them secretly.

Buchheit said the best approach was to “foster a collaborative rather than adversarial relationship with these external teams.”

“The onus is on us, in the clubs, to initiate and maintain transparency and open communication,” he said. “I’ve always tried to engage proactively in dialogue that prioritises the player’s welfare, despite the challenges it may pose to my professional pride.”

Rosenblatt and Collins agreed that communication and co-operation was the best policy. 

“Ensuring that the external support team have the appropriate skills, qualifications and are following the same company systems/ methodology is crucial to solving the player’s performance problems,” they wrote. 

“Making sure they are trusted by the club will also mitigate the threat of a player making bad decisions for their preparation and recovery – such as seeing external staff who are motivated by short-term money or fame.

“If the external support team has industry credibility and rare expertise that isn’t consistently available internally, they can become a trusted, valuable extension of the club’s team.”