English Premier League club Chelsea have hired long-time All Blacks mental skills coach Gilbert Enoka to help them develop a winning culture.
Enoka, who helped the All Blacks to win back-to-back Rugby World Cups in 2007 and 2011, will join the London club in a short-term consultancy role, says English newspaper The Telegraph in an exclusive report.
Former PE teacher Enoka (57) has worked with other elite sports teams, including six years with the New Zealand cricket team and three years helping the Silver Ferns netball side.
But his role with Chelsea is his first in football.
Main photo: Gilbert Enoka … to help Chelsea find a winning culture. Photo: Essential Talent.
Chelsea’s new owners have spent more than £600 million on new signings in the past two transfer windows, and manager Graham Potter faces the challenge of managing a large squad of big-name players.
Enoka is often credited with the introduction of the All Blacks’ “no d***heads” policy which he has defined as “people putting themselves ahead of the team, people who think they’re entitled to things or expect the rules to be different for them, people operating deceitfully in the dark, or being unnecessarily loud about their work.”
Enoka will become the second New Zealander to help Chelsea work on their team culture.
Performance coach Owen Eastwood, a lawyer-turned-performance coach, has worked with Gareth Southgate’s England squad ahead of past FIFA World Cup Finals and the European Championships.
Eastwood has consulted to many leading sports teams, including the All Blacks and the British Olympic team.
READ MORE: Owen Eastwood, the Kiwi helping England build its team culture >>>>
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