“Movember Ahead of the Game uses sport to teach young athletes, parents and coaches how to talk about mental health,” says Mr Paul Williams, Movember’s director of young men's health Implementation. “The programme equips young athletes with the tools to recognise mental health issues, what to do and when to get help. These young athletes learn how to build resilience and overcome challenges in sport and life.”

Williams says that, in opening up about their own struggles, elite players are creating a space for fans to address their own. “By normalising the conversation about mental health, we hope this can continue to shift dial in the behaviours, systems and norms around men,” he says.

To mark MR PORTER’s support of Ahead of the Game, we spoke to some of the country’s leading sports psychologists to understand how mental health techniques are not just improving the wellbeing of professional players, but offering them marginal gains in the sport. Plus, how we can apply this approach to our everyday lives.

“When I was at West Ham, I worked with Carlton Cole,” says Mr Dan Abrahams, a sports psychologist who now works with Feyenoord FC. “In August 2007, he was languishing in the reserve team. Eighteen months later, he made his debut for England. He needed help to get the most from his physical ability, technical ability and tactical understanding.”

To reach your full potential, Abrahams suggests using action words or a metaphor to create a “game face” – a version of yourself that will help you achieve your goals, which can be real-world goals, not just, you know, goals.

“We sat down and watched a game he played really well in,” Abrahams says. “One of the descriptive words he used was ‘aggressive’. He said, ‘I’m 6ft 2in, but I feel 5ft 2in out there. I want to be a monster.’ We took ‘aggressive’ and ‘monster’ and made a competitive persona. He became an aggressive monster on the pitch. Using body language and self-talk – that was his only objective.”

Success in a penalty shootout is largely down to body language and visualisations, says Ms Lucy Burdin, a sports psychologist who works with Arsenal women’s academy. “If you’re comfortable with your routine, stick to it,” Burdin says. “Remember: if it’s on target, it’s still an achievement. Correct your body language and make it powerful – shoulders back, straightened back. And approach it like you eat your cereal in the morning. It’s an everyday routine. Don’t overcomplicate it.”

If you’re in a high-pressure situation like this, Burdin suggests recalling old wins to create new ones. “Look at past experiences and see what you’ve achieved. We always go to the negative. ‘That was rubbish.’ But, before I did that, I did this really well.”

Failing that, you can just invent it. “The mind can easily be tricked. Envisage yourself scoring a volley, it goes top corner,” Burdin says. “You instantly feel it – the ball hitting your foot, your muscles moving. You can hear the crowd. The mind thinks it’s already done it.”

If you want to perform well, forget the big-ticket goals and focus on small things you can control. Not only will it increase concentration, it will also help you hit the targets you wanted to achieve in the first place.

“The layperson might think the objective [for a footballer] is to win,” Abrahams says. Abrahams actually tries to steer players’ thoughts away from winning or performing well. “Neither is in their control,” he says. “There’s pressure on you to perform, you don’t want to make mistakes. This invites unhelpful emotions like anxiety and worry. I teach players to focus on the things they can control in any given second so they can stay focused. So, rather than telling a striker to score, their job might be to defend from the front, get in between the defenders and attack the six-yard area.” Easy.

“People see the price tag and think [players are] getting paid millions, they can get over it,” Burdin says on the public’s impression of professional footballers. “Actually, they don’t see the money. They have no control over that. They just happen to be very skilled in a sport. There’s a lot of rejection in football. You’re constantly running away from emotions.”

To help players get over the impact of being dropped, Burdin suggests readjusting perspective. This is something we can all relate to.

“I get them to zoom out of the situation,” she says. “When we’re feeling low, we’re very zoomed in, so we’re feeling undervalued. It’s important to remember it’s not personal. See the bigger picture.”

There are other ways to get a fresh outlook, too. “Think how you regulate your emotions,” Burdin says. “It’s important to get out in nature and gather your thoughts. The physical response of being rejected is really painful. People don’t know how to cope with it. Allow your body to move.”

Abrahams says it is important to remember that footballers are also human beings. “They can have challenges because of games or at home with partners,” he says. “Teammates or personal wellbeing challenges. Social anxiety, low mood, chronic depression.”

And, whether you’re a footballer or a fan, the more we talk and share information, the more our collective mental health will improve.

“People talk about mental health on social media now, even hardened ex footballers,” Abrahams says. He notes other sports, such as NFL and NBA, where 12 hours of support per week for players is mandated. “Everyone has all of this information on their phones, too. People haven’t always had that in football. These days, you can go on a YouTube video and get something – there is so much free information out there.”