Klopp's winter break creating heated debates: Discussion looking at player burnout

With innovative ideas and freshly introduced concepts comes newly discovered issues and problems. Being this is the first season the Premier League has scheduled a winter break, albeit with a different format to leagues on the continent who take a few weeks off over Christmas, some negative press and issues around FA Cup replays have created tension between clubs and English FA. In a letter sent to clubs from the Premier League in March, teams were told they were "expected to honour and respect the underlining rationale for the mid-season player break, namely to provide their players with a break from the physical and mental rigours of playing matches during the season". As reported earlier this week, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp and his first-team players, supported by Liverpool FC, are respecting the break and will not be involved in the FA Cup fourth-round replay against Shrewsbury Town. He is quoted as saying:

“We have to respect the players’ welfare. They need a rest. They need a mental rest, a physical rest, and that’s what the winter break is all about.
We had to make these decisions (fielding an under-23s team managed by Neil Critchley) beforehand because these boys have families.
We are a football team and we are a group together. We are all or nobody. We had to make the decision then and we made it. Of course we thought we would go through, we would win, but we didn’t and although it was not in the beginning it is now a principle thing.”

Liverpool’s manager claimed the Football Association did not consult “sports-responsible people” over playing replays during the break as he hit back at the organisation for stating all clubs had accepted the dates before the season started. He also insisted Critchley, the under-23s coach, was the best man for the job of leading a team of under-23s at Anfield for the replay. The FA has described the mid-season break as a “player break” but Klopp confirmed he would be taking one too and would not be at Anfield for the replay. He dismissed the idea of watching from the directors’ box. “What difference would it make? Why should I be there? Give me a reason why I should,” he said. “On the football side it is clear and the other thing is we have to make a stand.”

I wrote last year about Klopp’s focus on empathy and close, meaningful relationships with his players and staff (https://www.coachingthecoaches.net/blog/2019/6/3/its-all-about-love-six-and-relationships-with-epl-top-coaches); his vocal importance towards player-centred approaches has allow him to develop a coaching environment which offers players ingredients for genuine motivation; mastery, autonomy and purpose. His strong stance for his players and their welfare strengthens these ideas as he is looking to reduce the symptoms of player burnout and keep his elite playing group genuinely motivated and focused as they charge towards the “pointy” end of the season. But, what is burnout and can it really factor this much into player motivation?

Researchers studying the experiences of individuals propose the burnout syndrome consists of three central characteristics: emotional exhaustion, reduced accomplishment and depersonalization (Maslach, 1982). Athlete devaluation to sport, regarded as “perhaps most cognitive of burnout dimensions” (Lemyre, 2006), has strong links to lack of autonomy (such as feelings of choice and self-directedness in sport development) and competence (perceptions of effectiveness in sport or team). Within Lonsdale’s research, he recognised that “self-determined motivation moderates the relationships that competence and autonomy had with exhaustion” (Lonsdale, 2009); both emotional exhaustion and devaluation were related to unfulfilled or lack of self-determined motivations. Ryan and Deci (2000) also believed “physiological need for relatedness may play a more distal role than competence and autonomy”. Hodge’s research echoed “high burnout players (investigated) had lower competence and autonomy scores yet didn’t report different relatedness (connection to others) scores” (Hodge, 2008). Therefore, Klopp’s strong stance and use of language stating how they were making a collective stand (demonstrating club wide “autonomous” choice against FA) whilst encouraging time away with their families (knowing relatedness to other players is less important in relation to burnout symptoms) was extremely powerful and effective and reiterates his focus on empathy and close, meaningful relationships with his players.

Athlete burnout results from “chronically frustrated or unfulfilled basic physiological needs” (Cresswell, 2006), with reduced accomplishment and devaluation featured most prominently and “denotes a negative emotional reaction to sport participation” (Gustafsson, Kenttä, Hassmén, & Lundqvist, 2007). Satisfying these basic needs shall “foster self-determined motivation” (Hollembeak, 2005)  and has been associated with “higher self-esteem, higher task engagement and lower anxiety” (Deci, 2001), which allow athletes or players to develop intrinsically defined motivation for goals or development within their sport. Basic needs satisfaction shall also result in positive psychological consequences such as adaptive coping strategies for personal development and flow experiences, ideal for player development and both consequences required for high performance players as part of personal development. However, intrinsic motivation is not the only reason for lower levels of athlete burnout; Lonsdale’s research found autonomous extrinsic motivations, such as integrated or identified regulators, also resulted in lower levels of athlete burnout. Therefore, Klopp’s ideas such as players being able to express a sense of themselves or achieving personal valued outcomes away from the pitch during the winter break as an example could be areas to increase athlete engagement for the remainder of the season.

Strengthening Klopp’s and other EPL managers arguments, Gustafsson (2007) reported findings that team sport male athletes showed higher burnout scores (compared to individual athletes) based on emotional and physical exhaustion and devaluation of coach and co-athletes, while displaying no significant correlation between training volume and burnout scores. Therefore, the emotional support and perceived efficacy in sport is areas coaches like Klopp can assist for prolonged athlete involvement, retention and engagement, which can be enhanced by understanding of what players’ value and why. Klopp’s tactics and strong stance appears to be giving the “sport responsible people” he refers to a run for their money!! One of the interesting points raised from similar research which Premier League and FA coaches should take note from is the qualitative investigations which found attributions to burnout symptoms included transitions between competitions or stages in season, which added emotional and mental stress; pressure to comply and perform in elite environments and negative development environments, all areas which could factor and enable greater control for players and coaches alike. Therefore, due to Liverpool’s involvement in multiple competitions including World Club Championships and Champions League, Klopp’s strong stance taken may have been a very astute tactic for both the well-being of his players and long term involvement and development of U23 players in their respective competitions in Liverpool colours this year. As their lead grows and coming into knockout stages of Champions League, time will tell whether Klopp’s empathetic stance for his players well-being shall bear trophy leaden fruit…..