The Mentality Behind Cole Palmer’s Success: Exclusive Personal Trainer Interview
Just 48 hours after the Euro 2024 final, Cole Palmer was straight back in the gym with his cousin and personal trainer, Nathan.
His languid appearance and nonchalant personality on and off the pitch may give the impression of a gifted footballer whose talent has got him this far, but it’s his hard work and elite mentality that sets him apart.
In an exclusive interview with the Sports Gazette, Nathan revealed: “He came home [from the Euros] with a mindset of like, ‘We need to get to work. I’ve got to go back to Chelsea’.
“It was a case of making sure Cole was where he needed to be explosiveness wise, and then working on trying to build up a bit more upper body and core strength.
“I think we all thought he should be playing a little bit more than he did [at the Euros]. Maybe he had that fire from there and came back with that attitude.”
Despite his impact off the bench, scoring in the final and setting up the match-winning goal in the semi-final, Palmer played just 145 minutes at the Euros.
Due to his participation in the tournament, the England international missed the majority of Chelsea’s pre-season camp. In fact, he only arrived at Cobham after the rest of the squad had already returned from their tour of USA, just one week before the start of the Premier League season.
The reigning Premier League Young Player of the Year racked up 40 goals and assists in just 45 games for Chelsea last season.
Rather than resting on his laurels, he was determined to do it all again the following season, starting with the one-to-one sessions with Nathan that have been a feature of his development since he was just 15.
“At that point it was just plyometric-based stuff trying to get him a little more explosive and just using the things I was learning in my degree.
“[He wants to] get that edge over competitors in the team and over everyone else.
“In a club setting, it’s focused around the whole team, rather than just one singular person. So if you’ve got that focus on yourself rather than the whole team, then you’re going to get more benefit from actual one-to-one training than you are in a team setting.”
“As an athlete, you always should be striving to be the best, and a way of doing that is getting extra coaching outside the club. Keep trying to put an extra little 1% in and do things that your competitors aren’t doing to get that edge over them and over everyone else.”
Additionally, players know their weaknesses better than anyone else, at least from a physical sense. Having a one-on-one trainer allows them to work on those weaknesses, and that is exactly what Palmer did.
PREPARING FOR GREATNESS
Speaking in an interview with the Players’ Tribune, Palmer revealed that he was always the smallest player in the team when he was younger. He recalls telling his father that he wished he was bigger and stronger so he wouldn’t get pushed off the ball as much.
“To be able to sprint, jump, holding players off, not getting pushed off the ball, balance, being able to change directions – it all comes with core strength”, said Nathan. “It’s the underlying basis of football really.”
When asked what has impressed him the most about Palmer’s physical development over the years, Nathan responded, “I’d say his core strength, definitely.
“He’s not the biggest player in terms of size, but he could definitely hold players off. He’s definitely got that core strength and I’ve helped him in the gym, learning new exercises, and he’s taking them and putting them in his own training when he’s at the gym.”
Over six feet tall now, the Chelsea star may look lanky, but you will rarely see him get bullied off the ball by a defender. That is testament to the programme he has followed off the pitch.
HERE TO STAY
Palmer has the technical ability of a creative midfielder, the skills of a winger, and the presence in the box of a striker, making him the complete modern day attacker.
Since joining Chelsea, no Premier League player has registered more goals and assists than Palmer’s 47 in 46 games. As this was his first campaign in senior football, his performances surprised many, including Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola.
Speaking about Palmer at the Leaders Week Conference, Zola said, “He’s probably one of the players that has surprised me the most. I saw straight away that he had qualities, but I didn’t see all of this coming.
“He has the ability to entertain. He always produces good passes and very good assists.
“What I love about him is when he receives the ball, he is always looking up and many times he has the pass in mind before he receives the ball. This is a quality only the big players have. I’m impressed.”
But those close to Palmer were not surprised.
“I don’t feel like it was that much of a surprise,” Nathan admitted.
“I mean, he’s always had that technical ability to do these things. We’ve seen it in the under-21’s, even when he was at Man City. Sometimes he didn’t get as much of a chance there, but I mean, we always knew he was capable of doing stuff like this.
“So it was just a case of him getting them minutes. I always knew he was special.
“He’s put work in, so hats off to him. It’s just whether he kept himself grounded and kept the mindset, and yeah, he’s definitely done that.”
It’s that mentality that sets great players apart from good ones.
‘MENTALITY MONSTER’
“You never settle for what you have achieved,” Zola said referring to Palmer.
“The big players want to be the best player of the game, then the player of the month, then the best in the year, and then the best in the country and abroad.
“You have to have this ambition, to get better all the time, because if you don’t have high motivation you can’t make it.”
Cole Palmer certainly has that mentality.
“His mentality is second to none,” Nathan revealed. “He just seems to block everything out and when it’s time and he needs to focus, he’ll focus.”
This nonchalant focus coupled with the hard work he’s been putting in over the years has made him one of the best players in the world.
Despite many doubting whether he would be able to reach the same heights as last season, the 22-year-old has put those doubts to bed with eight goals and six assists in just 13 Premier League games.
“To see his rise, to see how he’s grown up into the player he has is crazy to be fair. I don’t know what to say sometimes when I see some of the stuff he does”, said Nathan.
“I couldn’t be prouder in terms of what he’s done and just the person that he’s becoming. Just to be part of it is crazy.”
Palmer is now a household name for football fans worldwide, and his rapid rise to the top is evidence of the years of hard work required to excel in the Premier League.
