Kelly: Mental side is massive

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The 35-year-old rookie has prepared for his first senior position in the Football League by obtaining his coaching credentials and revealed he also has an FA-approved psychology qualification.

And the ex-York and Sunderland youth coach believes the mental side of the game is hugely important to getting the best out of a group of players.

Speaking to Press Association Sport, the Northern Irishman said: “As much as I am going to be hands-on on the training ground, I think it’s trying to get the players to buy into the mental side as well. That’s massive in football.

“You’ve got the football side but they need to be mentally right and prepared as well. It’s a big process that all comes together with everyone working in the right direction moving forward.

“If you haven’t got the right mental approach, it’s going to be difficult to do the things you’re good at.

“If your confidence is low, you’re not going to be doing the things you’re good at. If you’ve got the right mental approach and you believe in what you’re doing and you’re confident in doing it, you believe you can accomplish anything.”

Brendan Rodgers, who Kelly has cited as a managerial inspiration, has used noted sports psychologist Steve Peters with his Liverpool squad.

But while Rodgers can use others to tap into the minds of his players, Kelly will be drawing on his own knowledge to find out what makes his Latics squad tick.

“Through my experience of doing that it’s something I will use a lot with players in order to get the best out of them,” Kelly added.

“There’s identifying the players that are needed then there’s identifying the players that might need something different.”