Brentford goalkeeper Mark Flekken has opened up about working with a mental coach to help him adjust after a difficult few months at the club.
Flekken joined from Bundesliga side Freiburg in May 2023 but endured a difficult start to his career in England, pointing out Joachim Andersen’s equalising goal during the 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace in August as a low point.
“I believe I have a very strong mindset – I have lived through a lot of ups and downs in my career to know what is important for me – but during those first six months I just hit a roof,” said Flekken.
“Luckily my agent saw that I could not get through that roof by myself. He’s not just my agent any more, he is a close friend. I have been working with him since 2010, so he knows me inside and out. That makes it easier to take criticism from him.
“He came with a brilliant idea in that moment because I could not see it. ‘I’m mentally strong,’ I would tell myself. ‘I can get through this. Keep going, keep going, keep going.’ He broke that wall down and helped me to get on top of my mental struggles.”
Flekken was introduced to Ajax’s mental coach Joost Leenders who has worked on the mental side of the game one-on-one with Dutch internationals Memphis Depay and Wout Weghorst.
“It was not easy at the start,” he added. “How are you going to start those conversations after four months of not being able to show that 100% true performance? But at some point, I just decided to do it.
“Those tiny little bits – and he had a few more of those things – helped me get back to the leader I know I can be. Those little things helped me get on top of everything.
“That led to the point when we played away against Tottenham, which was the first time I walked off the pitch after the game and said to Manu [Sotelo]: ‘Hey, this is me. I am my true self.’
“Tottenham and Man City changed the season for me. All of the pieces of the puzzle fitted together.”
Mark Flekken,Crystal Palace,Memphis Depay,Joachim Andersen,Wout Weghorst,Freiburg,Dutch internationals,Man City
