Paul McVeigh™️

Performance Psychologist

Paul McVeigh 

As a keynote/ conference speaker I aim to enrich, entertain & educate the audience.
Through my story telling presentations I uplift & engage the audience, wherever they are in the world. 
As well as keynote and conference speaking I also provide options for smaller audiences such as in-house events and team talks. 

Examples of feedback:

“I THOUGHT PAUL WAS VERY GOOD, VERY THOUGHT-PROVOKING…AND WHAT WAS REALLY GOOD FOR US IS THAT HE WAS ABLE TO LINK IT BACK TO BUSINESS VERY CLEARLY WAS EXACTLY WHAT WE NEEDED.”
 
“I THOUGHT HE WAS VERY MOTIVATIONAL, AND THERE WAS A LOT OF THINGS HE DISCUSSED THAT REALLY RESONATED. IT WAS VERY ENGAGING.”
 
“HE PRESENTED EVERYTHING IN SUCH A CALM MANNER, INTRODUCED A LOT OF HUMUOR AND WAS VERY DOWN-TO-EARTH. HE MADE A GREAT COMMENT, ‘YOU CAN’T GET THE BEST OUT OF OTHERS, IF YOU HAVEN’T THE BEST OUT OF YOURSELF’. I’M GOING TO TAKE THAT BACK TO THE OFFICE.”
 
“THE CRUCIAL THING PAUL DOES IS HE USES HIS KNOWLEDGE, BUT BROUGHT IT BACK TO A BUSINESS CONTEXT, KEEPING IT PRACTICAL FOR THE GUYS IN THE AUDIENCE.”

Professional Keynote Speaker/ Conference Speaker

BT Group

Co-commentary on the European football leagues for BT Sport - Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and Serie A.
Guiding the listening and viewing experience for the fans following the beautiful game of football.

Co-Commentator For BT Sport

talkSPORT

Co-hosting the 'Football First' show with Ian Danter and co-commentating on Barclays Premier League games for TalkSPORT live.

Co-host and Co-Commentator

Crystal Palace Football Club

Working with the Crystal Palace Academy players and staff of the U-23 and U-18 teams by assisting them to sustain long term careers in professional football through developing the mental side of the sport.

Performance Psychology coach

ThinkPRO Ltd

Contact me personally: paul@paulmcveigh.co.uk

Managing Director

beIN MEDIA GROUP

As a former Northern Irish international football player I was analysing the European Championships alongside a host of top former international footballers.

Analyst

Bloomsbury

Instead of doing an autobiography, I wanted to be the first former footballer to write a book on the mental skills that are crucial to become a top professional footballer. 'The Stupid Footballer is Dead' is critical and insightful for football fans, parents of aspiring footballers and, of course, the young players themselves. My book is available now and is being published by Bloomsbury.

www.paulmcveigh.co.uk/author

Reviews:

Paul McVeigh's views on professional football are spot on. This book is a great help to every player, manager or coach no matter level your involved in.
Think positive, act professional, set goals and you'll improve. 
Francis Anthony Mezza 

Paul McVeigh's intelligent insight into being a footballer was an interesting (& enjoyable) read, There is hope for footballer's if they use their brains as well as their feet, as Paul clearly has. He has obviously carved out a career post football, and maybe his "input" will change the rather poor views most people have of footballers. More Beckham's & McVeigh's are required. 
D. I. Harris

It's refreshing to read Paul's story and thoughts. In a time where footballers receive such bad press for their High salary, Paul is a beacon of light shining the way to prove there is more to them than meets the eye.
A great read and a lot of positive thoughts to take away and put into practice.
You can tell McVeigh is a genuine nice guy. I encourage people to buy this book and see exactly what I mean
Lee Cork

Author: The Stupid Footballer is Dead

I am the regular guest on BBC 1's 'Late Kick Off East' which covers the football league teams in the East Anglia region.
Late kick off is a television football programme which covers football league teams in a magazine style format

Pundit - Late Kick Off

I present my own show 'McVeigh & Butler' on BBC Radio Norfolk which previews every Norwich City games in the Barclays Premier League.

Sports presenter

Pitch side reporter on Soccer Saturday and Soccer Special with Jeff Stelling and Julian Warren

In vision Reporter For Sky Sports

Hi, I’m Paul - a Keynote Speaker and former Premier League Footballer who now helps leaders at global organisations like Microsoft, Cisco, Rolls Royce, BBC, KPMG + more to achieve world-class performance. 

At 17 years old, I walked into the Tottenham Hotspur first-team dressing room for the first time.

To the left? Sol Campbell.
To my right? Jürgen Klinsmann.
In front of me? Teddy Sheringham.

I was surrounded by world-class performers. 

And the only thought going through my head?

”I’m not cut out for this.”

So how did I go from that moment to a 16+ year career with over 300 professional appearances?

Answer: I found the secret to world-class performance.

You see, when I first walked into that Spurs dressing room I thought these top-class players were better than me because of their skill set. 

But I quickly realised there was only 1 thing that separated the best of the best - their mindset. 

It’s that one simple asset that made:

- Michael Phelps a 23-time gold medalist.
- Ronaldo a 5-time Ballon d’Or winner.
- And me… a career in football.

But mindset isn’t just something world-class athletes need. It’s something anyone who wants to operate at the top level level needs.

To run a business. To manage a team. To be a leader.

Today, I help leaders at global corporations understand the mindset needed to unlock world-class performance. 

It’s all well and good to give your employees the skills to succeed, but do they even know what world-class performance looks like?

I’m here to teach them that!

To enquire about how I can help your company please contact [brendan@paulmcveigh.com](mailto:brendan@paulmcveigh.com) with the subject line “LinkedIn Enquiry”. 

⭐ Hear what some of my former clients had to say:

Verdayne Nunis - Chief of Staff at Microsoft:

“It was phenomenal and inspiring. Powerful session - loaded with insight and techniques for application that have been applied to make our team more resilient”!

Sarah Eccleston - CTO at Cisco:

“We have learnt a lot and have a lot of key takeaways...I don’t think this is something our teams would have thought about before..they think about what we do practically, what we have to learn technically but we don’t go to work and think what should I be doing psychologically so this was hugely impactful for all of us”!

A little boy in my village just had 12 hours of brain surgery. His family needs two things, and I think LinkedIn can deliver both.

Meet Jenson. He’s from my village in North Devon, and he just came out of surgery to remove a brain tumor that’s spread to his spinal cord. He faces months of treatment and an uncertain road ahead.

His family has had to uproot their entire life to be near Bristol Children’s Hospital for the next 3-5 months. Right now, they’re split up, traveling back and forth, one parent with Jenson, the other at home with their daughters. They’re exhausted, heartbroken, and desperately trying to hold everything together.

Two missions. Two asks. One community.

Mission 1: Find Jenson’s family a home in Bristol

They need temporary housing near Bristol Children’s Hospital for 3-5 months. Pet-friendly (they have a little dog). Airbnbs are £800/week and unsustainable. They just want to be together as a family. Especially for Christmas.

If you have connections, properties, or know someone who can help, please reach out or share this post.

Mission 2: Get Jude Bellingham to send Jenson a message

Jenson’s favourite footballer is Jude Bellingham. 

A video message would mean the world to this brave little boy. 
An actual visit? That would be everything.

If you have connections at Real Madrid, work with charities that arrange these things, or have any route to making this happen, now’s the time.

I’ve got 38K followers. Some of you have networks that dwarf mine. If everyone who sees this shares it and tags someone who might have a connection, to housing in Bristol, to football contacts, to anyone who can move mountains, we might actually pull this off.

Share this. 
Tag someone. 
Make noise.

Let’s show Jenson and his family what we can do.

#BristolChildrensHospital #JudeBellingham #HousingNeeded #RealMadrid 


PS If a small rural community can raise £32k in a few days then imagine what we can do here on LinkedIn

* Reposted with permission from Rachael Lemon 🍋

Paul McVeigh, M.Sc.

Founder Global Technology platform 🚀 | English Premier League Footballer ⚽️ | Global Keynote Speaker | CEO @ The Leadership Club | 📲 Enquiries: +44 (0)7842 570341

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I have a lot of respect for players at Manchester United.

Especially Harry Maguire, mainly because of the hatred he gets.

A few days ago, when I was speaking with GiveMeSport, a key topic of conversation was Harry Maguire.

Over the past few years, he’s been trolled by fans and media just because he carries himself in a different way.

Every action of his is criticised and he’s in the news because people want to have fun at his expense.

Yet, he performs every single time he’s called upon.

He may not be the world’s best defender at the moment. But he’s playing for one of the most followed clubs in the world at the highest level.

And he’s been doing that for years.

That’s exactly why Maguire is a great example for athletes around the world of how to deal with criticism.

The key is to be able to differentiate between constructive criticism and noise.

Harry has certainly mastered that.

In 2015, Eberechi Eze tweeted: “I swear imma make it…”

Last week, he became the first player since 1978 to score a hat-trick for Arsenal against Spurs.

That’s not luck or coincidence.

That’s the power of a mind that knows exactly where it’s going long before the world sees it.

Eze has always been talented.
We saw glimpses of that at Crystal Palace.
We saw flashes of it when he arrived at Arsenal.

But the real test of any player is how they perform in the biggest moments.

Against Tottenham, he showed the world what he can do.

It was a boyhood Arsenal fan living out the exact future he once visualised.

People often talk about form, tactics, and ability.

But very few talk about mindset… the belief that you will reach the level you see in your head… even when your current reality doesn’t match it yet.

For every athlete and professional reading this:

Talent might open the door. But a strong mind is what walks you through it.

Credit: OneFootball

The moment footballers forget they’re role models… millions of kids pay the price.

Earlier this week, Go Ahead Eagles forward Victor Edvardsen was caught mocking Stuttgart’s Angelo Stiller’s cleft lip.

Instead of fronting up afterwards, he brushed it off as “emotion in the moment”.

Here’s the reality:

→ Emotion doesn’t excuse disrespect.
→ Pressure doesn’t excuse targeting someone’s appearance.
→ And adrenaline definitely doesn’t excuse abandoning your standards.

Footballers, whether they like it or not, are role models for millions of young people watching around the world.

When the game lets moments like this slide, it sends the wrong message:

- That winning matters more than integrity.
- That leaders only lead when it’s easy.
- That pressure justifies anything.

Sport is supposed to set the standard.

This fell way below it.

We need more accountability and more players who are willing to show what real leadership looks like.

Image credit: Sport Bible

When Jordan Henderson signed for Liverpool in 2011, not many believed he would ever fill Steven Gerrard’s boots.

- He wasn’t the most gifted player.
- He wasn’t the most glamorous.
- And when Gerrard left, many doubted he was captain material.

But Henderson did what true leaders do.

He learned, he adapted and he grew into the role.

By 2015, he was Liverpool captain.

And under his leadership?

Liverpool lifted the Champions League, the FA Cup, the League Cup, the UEFA Super Cup, the Club World Cup, and finally, the Premier League.

Yet Henderson’s leadership wasn’t about demanding the spotlight.

It was about setting standards and doing the unglamorous work that allowed others to shine.

In short, he led by being selfless.

And that word, ‘selfless,’ challenges everything we think we know about leadership.

Because isn’t selflessness a weakness? Doesn’t it lead to burnout, or being taken advantage of

Or is selflessness the very thing that makes Henderson one of the most respected captains of his generation?

I dive deep into this topic in my new book, It's Not About You: The Psychology of Leadership.

Be one of the first to get your hands on a copy by following the link below ⤵️

https://lnkd.in/engKmShQ

Image credit: Mike Egerton

I’ll turn 48 tomorrow.

And when I look at the last four decades, one feeling comes up more than anything else:

Gratitude.

I’ve been lucky enough to live several careers in one lifetime.

From playing in the Premier League, to becoming a global keynote speaker, to being a 2x published author, to leading The Leadership Club, and building Speakify.

But none of this has happened in isolation.

I’ve had incredible people around me.

Teammates who pushed me, colleagues who challenged me, clients who trusted me, and friends and family who kept me grounded.

The last 48 years have given me more lessons, opportunities, and experiences that I never could have imagined.

The best part?

I still feel like I’m only getting started.

Here’s to the next chapter.

P.S. To celebrate my birthday, I’m giving someone a chance to win a copy of my book, It’s Not About You - The Psychology of Leadership. All you have to do is like, comment, and repost this post today.

Two brothers, standing next to each other in the tunnel.

No handshake. No smile. Not even eye contact.

On the surface, it looks cold.

In reality, it’s world-class psychology.

Gary understood that, in that moment, he wasn’t a brother. He was a captain. His responsibility wasn’t to share a glance with Phil; it was to set the tone for his team.

That’s true world-class leadership:

→ Off the pitch: family.
→ On the pitch: opponents.

It’s called compartmentalisation. The ability to separate personal feelings from professional demands and it’s one of the hardest skills for any leader to master.

Because when you’re under pressure, your mindset is contagious. 

If Gary softened in that tunnel, his team would have felt it. By staying focused, they followed his lead.

And this is exactly the kind of leadership psychology I talk about in my new book that launched earlier this week.

If you want to grab a copy, follow this link: https://lnkd.in/engKmShQ

I’ve spent my career trying to understand one thing:

Why do some leaders elevate everyone around them, while others break the teams they lead?

The answer became the foundation of my new book.

Today, It’s Not About You: The Psychology of Leadership is officially released.

It’s the result of decades of work and conversations with leaders across sport, business, and psychology, all pointing to one truth:

Great leadership is a mindset, not a title.

If you’ve ever wondered why:

- Some teams rise under pressure while others crumble
- Some leaders inspire people to do their best work
- Some cultures thrive while others quietly fall apart

This book explains it.

It’s real. It’s practical. And it’s available today.

I couldn’t be prouder to finally share it.

👉🏻 Grab your copy here: https://lnkd.in/engKmShQ

Your next chapter in leadership starts here.

Football has the power to change lives, and Play it Forward is proving it. ⚽️

On Monday 15th December, Play it Forward is hosting their inaugural Charity Cup. 

A 6-a-side tournament at Haggerston Park 3G, London, raising funds to support young people’s education, health, and employment in Zambia.

This isn’t just a football tournament.

It’s a chance to make a genuine impact, funding new sports and education facilities and giving young people the tools to build brighter futures.

Each team that enters helps:

→ Create opportunities for education.
→ Support community health initiatives.
→ Build life skills and confidence through sport.

If your business, friends or teammates want to get involved, you can sign up here 👇🏻

🔗https://lnkd.in/eq62ZEae

Football gave us all something growing up… now’s our chance to play it forward.

James Ketchell is one of the speakers at TLC.

He is the first person to row across the Atlantic Ocean, summit Mount Everest, and cycle 18,000 miles around the world, completing the Ultimate Triathlon.

He won’t be in the UK until May 2026. But he wants to read my book on his way to Hobart.

Safe to say, “It’s Not About You: The Psychology of Leadership” has people intrigued!

View newsletter: Psychology of Performance

In January, Jannik Sinner reached the peak of his sport. After becoming the first Italian to win the Australian Open in nearly 50 years in 2024, he fo

Open article: What Jannik Sinner Teaches Us About Ignoring the Noise by Paul McVeigh, M.Sc. • 3 min read

What Jannik Sinner Teaches Us About Ignoring the Noise

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