By Razeen Gutta
The secret to the Bees’ Premier League success involves a sports scientist and his dog.
Thomas Frank’s side have been in the top-flight of English football since 2021, with sports psychologist Michael Caulfield playing a large role in the club’s success.
The west London side have adjusted well to the departure of their former star man Ivan Toney and sit comfortably in mid-table, 10 games into the campaign.
Talking to The Guardian, Caulfield opened up on the role he and his dog have played in improving the mentality of the Brentford players.
“Myself and Thomas [Frank] often sit down and have a bit of lunch,” Caulfield said.
“After he signed his new contract [as manager in 2022], he said: ‘I’m jealous of you, Michael. You don’t understand, you’ve got one thing I’ll never, ever have and, by the way, that goes for most people in this building.’ I said: ‘Go on then’ … ‘Time.’ And that’s my innovation.”
“I’ve got time and I create time for others to have time. I’m always working towards that moment when the music stops. I’m trying to keep that joy and soul in football,” he said.
Alongside his dog, Paisley, Caulfield has a unique open-air, bench office policy where no topic is too much to be discussed.
“The idea was that you’ll never walk alone,” he said.
“I’ve got the list: anxiety, racism, divorce, miscarriages, it is an absolute A-Z. It’s a VAR-free zone.”
“Some of the things I know and have heard, shared and discussed, they’re going to the grave with me. They will never be discussed, written about, spoken about, put in fancy lights. There’s got to be room in life for that, I think.”
Pictured above: Michael Caulfield and his dog.
Source: @thecaulfieldwaya
