Get Your Team Scoring More Goals

We have all seen the pros in the Premier League struggle to score goals – even Manchester City's Erling Haaland had a couple of weeks when the ball just wouldn't go into the net. Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez have struggled to score at Liverpool – the list is endless.

All these players have a weight of expectation on them – if you're a striker you have to score goals and playing in front of thousands of expectant fans is not easy when you're not scoring.

Consider too the pressures on your young striker who feels he/she is letting the team down, the parents down and themselves down. My U11s striker was gifted a chance to score at the weekend when the opposition goalkeeper hit his own centreback and the ball rolled to my striker. Instead of calmly sidefooting the ball into the net he tried to burst it with a power shot only to see the ball come off his boot at an angle and miss the goal. He was distraught.

I work hard on the mental side of the game with my players and we soon had him smiling again but there is nothing better than getting your striker back scoring goals.

My players know there is nothing better than working hard in training and the goals will come. When Fernando Torres was having a hard time scoring at Chelsea he said it's all about “training better and harder, playing better and harder – and scoring more goals.”

Calmness in finishing

My U12 boys team is in a fine run of form winning the last two games 6-1 which has been very pleasing for coaches, players and especially parents! When the team wins you can do no wrong... as an example of this my U11 boys had an outstanding game and were winning 1-0 with just minutes to go.

The opposition goalkeeper miskicked the ball and it went straight to my striker who only had to side foot home for 2-0 and certain victory… instead he tried to break the back of the net only to see the ball fly off the side of his foot and go out for a throw in from with the opposition went and equalised.

So instead of praising the play the U11 parents moaned about not taking out chances... incredible.

Where my players are making progress is attacking with pace and making decisions at speed, passing the ball well into the runs of their team mates – something I am working on with my girls teams as well as my boys. This includes over and underlapping runs.

As I explained to the parents of my U11s we also work on calmness in finishing off these moves – and of course sometimes players make mistakes and that is absolutely fine because it is a big way to learn about all aspects of the game. I doubt my striker will do the same again if the situation happens in future.

Calmness in finishing is something all players should work on and I for one will be having a session on it at tonight's training!