Yoga sessions help team cope with the pressure

TOTTENHAM head coach Robert Vilahamn believes his squad’s weekly yoga sessions will help them deal with the pressure of Sunday’s Women’s FA Cup Final against Manchester United at Wembley.

Spurs and United are both aiming to win the competition for the first time and be the first club outside the WSL’s traditional ‘big three’ of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City to lift the trophy since 2012.

Having turned professional only in 2019, Spurs have made impressive strides since Vilahamn’s appointment in the summer, and the Swede believes yoga will help his players perform.

“There’s a lot of good footballers who can’t perform on the biggest stage — and they don’t stay on that stage,” Vilahamn (left) said. “If you look at those who can do it, they are the ones that can stay present, keep going even if they fail, go on to do the next one and the next one.

“I’ve seen Messi have bad self-confidence in some games and he looks poor. So everything is connected to how you can deal with your [mindset]. I know yoga helps. Some of [the players] love it, some will learn to love it.”

Vilahamn introduced the sessions shortly after taking the job and has revealed yoga has also helped him to stay calm on the touchline.

“I’m the one loving it the most,” he said. “When I was introduced to it a few years ago, it helped me to stay calm and make sure I can help the team to be calm.

“I was very aggressive before and I would do substitutions when I got feelings. You should never take too many decisions on feelings, you should use your brain and stay calm. So it helped me to make the right choices. I don’t panic, I try to stay calm, reflect on what’s happening.”

Spurs are just one place below United in the WSL table, but United have experience of playing in a final after losing last year’s showpiece against Chelsea.

“[United] are the favourites,” he said. “On the other hand, we played a good game against them, which showed we can compete against them and almost win.”