Discover essential tips for maintaining high morale and motivating your Football Manager team.
Master Player Motivation With These 5 Football Manager Tips & Tricks
for Winning Success
Napoleon Bonaparte once said that an army marches to the rhythm of their stomach; we may not need to cross the Alps in Football Manager, but your team certainly will play to the rhythm of their morale. Keeping your players motivated is key to achieving every goal you set for your team, but it can be a hard trick to pull off, particularly in the middle of a bad streak. So here are some short tips to keeping morale high and the wins coming.
1. Set Realistic Goals for Your Team (and for Yourself)
One of the most important factors in keeping morale high is setting realistic goals for your team. Players will become demotivated if they feel that their goals are unachievable or too easy. As a manager, it is your job to find the right balance between challenge and achievability. Be sure to communicate these goals to your players and celebrate milestones along the way.
Much in the same way, be sure to pick achievable objectives yourself. We all want to win the Champions League at the first time of asking or making a promotion every season until you reach the top tier, but progress sometimes is slow. If you’re giving yourself and your team unrealistic goals, you’re setting yourself to fail, and this will impact your players; if you give them the hair-blower treatment for dropping points against the league leaders when you’re in a relegation battle, they’re going to lose morale sooner rather than later.
2. Provide Feedback
Players in Football Manager, just like in real life, crave feedback on their performance. By providing regular feedback to your players, you can help them to improve their game and boost their confidence. Regularly interacting with your players will keep them happier, as well as improve their view and support of you as a manager, which can be vital if you’re embroiled in a high-stakes season.
You can interact with your players about their performance in training, after a match or their conduct, which can improve the dynamics of your squad and their performance on the pitch. Also, be specific in your feedback, pointing out areas for improvement as well as strengths. A well-placed constructive criticism can be as helpful as words of encouragement. This will help your players to focus on their strengths while working on their weaknesses.
3. Rotate the Starting Eleven
Players are players, and they like to play. While, at times, footballers seem to be content just sitting around collecting the checks, most of the time, they’ll want to go out and see minutes. Playing the same team week in and week out can be demotivating for players who are not getting a chance to shine.
By rotating your squad, you give every player the opportunity to play and prove themselves. This will not only keep morale high but will also help to develop your squad for the long term. Along the same lines, don’t make promises you can’t (or don’t intend to) keep. Telling a player he’ll be a Regular Starter when you only mean to use them as a Fringe Player will impact their morale, meaning they’re more likely to cause problems and see their performance decline.
4. Keep Training Interesting
Training can be a grind, especially when players are doing the same drills over and over again. Players will grow tired of doing the same exercises, and while their complaints seem easy enough to ignore at first, they can compound. Moreover, not only will this affect their morale, but also the benefit they get from training.
To keep morale high, mix up your training sessions with new drills and exercises. Be sure to keep things challenging by using the whole variety of training sessions at your disposal, and switching regularly. By doing this, your players will look forward to training and will be more engaged during sessions, reaping benefits two-fold.
5. Recognize and Reward Success
Finally, be sure to recognize and reward success. When your team achieves a milestone or wins a big game, take the time to celebrate and reward your players. This can be something as simple as a congratulations at the team talk after the game, a chat if they’re selected player of the match or a day off training if they’ve earned it.
Also, don’t forget players listen to your press conferences, so don’t spare the kind words if they’ve done their part. By doing this, you show your players that their hard work is appreciated and will motivate them to continue to perform at a high level.
Conclusion
In conclusion, keeping your morale high can be tricky in Football Manager, and it requires a lot of time and dedication. Hopefully, by following these tips, you can keep morale high and ensure that your players are motivated to perform at their best, so you can build a successful team and enjoy the game to the fullest.
