B5's Ireland connection continues with Steven Reid collab

This week we took a good friend of ours, former Republic of Ireland international, Premier League coach and qualified therapeutic counsellor, Steven Reid, to meet our friends at Tottenham Hotspur. Reidy delivered, alongside our director and co-founder Fraser Franks, to age groups and to staff at the club. He spoke about imposter syndrome, self-doubt and what it really takes to look after yourself in an environment where confidence is everything and weakness can feel like something to hide.

This is Steven's first public outing with us and means we can announce that he is working with us as a Senior Consultant, alongside his brilliant work as a qualified therapeutic counsellor (see his website here). It isn't the start of our work together, though. Steven has been working with us behind the scenes, providing one-to-one support, mentoring and a confidential sounding board for people across the game. It's nice to make it official with some pictures from his staff session at Spurs on Wednesday.

Steven's playing career took him from the Millwall academy to Blackburn Rovers, West Bromwich Albion and Burnley. He won 23 caps for the Republic of Ireland, captained his country and was part of the squad at the 2002 World Cup. As a coach he worked at Reading, with Scotland, including at the European Championships, and at Nottingham Forest, where he was part of the staff that took the club back to the Premier League in 2022.

From the outside, that looks like a career built on certainty. Steven has been honest that it didn't feel that way. Throughout his time as a player and coach he struggled with confidence and his mental health. He had a persistent sense that he didn't belong, even at the highest level. When he stepped away from coaching, he did so to help others going through the same thing, and qualifying as a counsellor in the summer of this year, after years of hard work.

To have someone who has achieved so much in the game making himself vulnerable and discussing his own anxieties (as he did in this Times interview) whilst working with staff, and the next generation of player, is invaluable and we are honoured to have a small part of him in our team.

Steven puts it this way: "I've known Fraser for a number of years now and have admired the work that he and Matt have been doing in the game for some time. It's something which was sorely lacking during my playing career and I'm really happy to work with the B5 team to support players and staff".

Matt Himsworth added: "We wanted to work with Steven not because of his stellar playing career, nor his elite coaching background, but because of who he is as a person and his values. Those years of graft qualifying as a counsellor, his sense of purpose and desire to help, means that he aligns with our beliefs and our way of doing things. He is a good man and we're proud to associate with him".

Steven will be delivering talks to academies, first-team squads and staff groups, and he will continue his one-to-one work with players, coaches and staff. If you'd like to find out more about bringing Steven into your club or organisation, get in touch at info@b5consultancy.com.