University of Staffordshire's Performing Under Pressure Podcast

Dr Lisa O’Halloran is a HCPC registered Sport and Exercise Psychologist, and she completed her PhD at Liverpool John Moores University. Lisa is the founder of LOH Consultancy Limited and has worked with a range of

In this episode, she explains to Dr Paul Mansell and Jason Wright how Nideffer's Attentional Styles Model is used in her practice with athletes.

Lisa movingly explains how a serious adverse health condition has changed the way she thinks about life and how it also shapes her practice. Just before the 30-minute mark, we advise our listeners that Lisa explains a surgical procedure which may be upsetting.

Lisa also reflects on effective supervision of trainee sport and exercise psychologists, and what she considers to be the fundamental qualities of a practitioner.

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Emma Gage is a Sport Psychologist In-Training and a World Record holder in Masters Swimming. Emma completed her MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology at the University of Staffordshire in 2025 and is also the owner of SwimWod.

In a varied episode, Emma tells hosts Dr Paul Mansell and Dr Karla Drew how she went from being a national medalist as a young swimmer to winning world titles in the masters division and being a finalist at the Olympic trials after a 10 year break. Emma describes the psychological skills that she has used to facilitate her performance, such as the moments immediately prior to a major competition. The trio also discuss Emma's research about career transitions and the process of becoming a Sport and Exercise Psychologist.

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Conor Niland is a former professional tennis player who reached a career high ranking of 129 in the world. He competed at Wimbledon, the Australian Open, and the US Open, where he faced Novak Djokovic. In 2024, his book “The Racket” won the William Hill Sports Book of the year. In the book, he described in detail that life on the tour is not always glamourous as we might imagine. ..

In this episode, Dr Paul Mansell and Dr Katie Sparks ask Conor to reflect on the psychology behind his career, such as how he dealt with setbacks, the psychological skills that he used on court, and managing relationships with other professionals on the tour. Conor also explains the role of identity in tennis and what advice he would give to his younger self about performing under pressure.

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Maria Bertelli is a former elite footballer and volleyball player. She played football for clubs such as Charlton Athletic, reading the Women's FA Cup final in 2007. Maria also represented Team GB at the London 2012 Olympic Games, and has since gone on to coach volleyball at the University of Derby and for Darkstar.

In this episode, she outlines how she coped, and continues to cope, with the demands of life in elite sport. Maria tells hosts Dr Paul Mansell and Jason Wright about her views on effective leadership, social support in top-level sport, and why having a sport psychologist was so valuable to her. Maria focuses on controllable factors and she reveals her psychological toolkit that facilitated her performance under pressure.

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Mikele Leigertwood has held a number of roles at Reading FC. He made over 100 appearances for them as a player and was part of the team that secured promotion to the Premier League in 2012. Since then, he has held the roles of Academy Loans Manager and First Team Coach. As a player, Mikele also represented Wimbledon, Crystal Palace, Sheffield United and QPR, as well as winning 11 caps for Antigua and Barbuda, whom he also coached earlier this decade.

In this episode, Mikele is quizzed by his colleague - fellow First Team Coach Danny Schofield - on how he managed pressure during his playing career, and the lessons he has learnt in terms of leading others to perform on a matchday. Mikele reflects on how he likes to be led and what a culture of high challenge/high support looks like at Reading. Mikele also explains the characteristics of an effective team.

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Kane Hemmings is approaching 500 appearances in professional football, and has scored over 160 goals for clubs including Rangers, Dundee, Tranmere Rovers, Oxford United, and Mansfield Town.

In this episode, he explains to Dr Paul Mansell and Brandon Walsh how he likes to be led so that he can perform at his best. Kane also provides great detail as to how he prepares and executes penalties. The trio reflect on the need to accept pressure, and how psychology can play an integral role in recovering from serious injuries.

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Dr Catarina Morais is a Sport Psychologist and a Lecturer in the Faculty of Education and Psychology at Universidade Católica Portuguesa in Porto. In this international episode, she shares her insights from her applied experiences with athletes as well as her research.

Catarina describes the essential skills that should be prioritised by sport psychologists such as having a constant awareness of their own beliefs and assumptions. She explains how irrational beliefs can undermine performance and how there might be a more favourable emotional profile that can help athletes to deal with stress. Catarina also outlines her views on leadership, including revealing the leader from her childhood who continues to influence her to this day.

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Lewis Warrington came through Everton's academy and made his Premier League debut in 2024. Since then, he has represented Tranmere Rovers, Plymouth, and Leyton Orient before singing for Walsall for the 2025/26 season. At the time of recording, Lewis was still at Walsall, but the 23-year old has since re-joined Tranmere Rovers.

In this episode, Lewis explains to hosts Dr Paul Mansell and Jack McMillan what it was like to make his debut at Goodison Park, and how he navigated loan spells early in his career. Jack asks Lewis to reflect on authenticity and honest conversations, and what the common fears are that young players might have. We discuss how Lewis deals with mistakes and setbacks, and what he does on a daily basis to put himself in the right frame of mind to perform well. Lewis reveals how he likes to be led and what are the ingredients that make a good dressing room culture.

We also ask Lewis to speak about his business ventures, and how they are helping him on and off the pitch.

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Krystian Pearce is an experienced former professional footballer. He has made over 600 appearances in his career for clubs such as Mansfield Town, Notts County, and Port Vale, having begun his career in Birmingham City’s academy. Krystian has also represented England at U17 and U19 level, and starred in the U17 World Cup in 2007. Known as Chief, the Birmingham-born defender also has 13 caps for Barbados.

In this episode, Krystian discusses a range of topics with hosts Dr Paul Mansell and Jake Jervis. With questions mainly set by our listeners, we ask Krystian to reflect on what he was like as a young player and what he would do differently if he could have his time again. Krystian speaks about how he has achieved longevity in his career, and what he considers the hallmarks of effective leadership to be. He also weighs up what his options are with the next stage of his career.

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For our landmark 100th episode, it is a pleasure to welcome Conor Coady to the show. Conor is the former captain of Wolverhampton Wanderers and made over 300 appearances for the club, leading the newly promoted side to back-to-back 7th placed finishes in 2019 and 2020. Conor began his career at Liverpool and has represented Sheffield United, Huddersfield Town, Everton, Leicester and Wrexham. He is currently on loan at Charlton Athletic. Conor also has 10 caps for England and was selected in the Euros 2021 and the World Cup 2022 squads.

In this episode, we discuss how Conor likes to prepare himself to perform under pressure, the characteristics of a good dressing room, and he reveals which coach has got the best out of him in his career. We focus on leadership, and Conor takes us into the England camps he experienced under Gareth Southgate, sharing what it was about his leadership that built togetherness in the squad. We also hear reflections on the leadership of Harry Kane and Ruben Neves, while Conor dispels some myths about footballers that we might hear on the terraces.

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