Motivation Issues Plague Mid-Table Teams in 2026

Lack of motivation affects teams with nothing to play for

Motivation Issues At this stage of the season, players are often accused of being 'on the beach' following a poor performance, which is something no manager wants to hear about their team. However, a lack of motivation can be challenging to deal with when a team is mid-table with seemingly nothing to play for. Clubs typically offer bonus money to players for staying up, but in some cases, reaching 40 points has guaranteed safety, and after receiving the extra payments, results have declined. It's different for managers, though, as the Premier League has always had positional prize money, with significant differences between, for example, eighth and 12th place. This means the club is always motivated to finish as high as possible, even if it's mid-table, as it can add to the transfer budget for the following season. ## Financial Incentives Giving players a financial incentive is probably the only way to solve the motivation issue. Premier League players are paid substantial basic wages, but at times like this, it would be preferable to reduce that figure and replace it with winning, appearance, and league-position bonuses that run until the last game of every season. This approach could help maintain the team's focus and motivation. Premier League players are paid enormous basic wages, but at times like this, you'd prefer to cut that figure and replace it with winning, appearance, and league-position bonuses that run right up to the last game of every season. ## Prioritizing Games Another point of contention, especially for fans of teams who are desperate for other results to go their way, is seeing managers prioritize certain games over others. For instance, Aston Villa boss Unai Emery was accused of focusing on his side's Europa League tie with Nottingham Forest, rather than selecting his strongest side against Tottenham, after making seven changes for his side's Premier League game against Spurs. This kind of thing has always happened, as seen with Manchester United and Tottenham last season, when they were both focused on trying to win the Europa League and had nothing to play for domestically. I definitely prioritized some games myself, for different reasons, with Stoke in our early Premier League years when I put our top-flight status ahead of cup games. ## Planning for Next Season This time of year is never quiet for a manager, as even if your team has nothing to play for right now, you already have to think about what happens next. During the latter stages of every campaign, I would plan my next pre-season, which usually involved Austria for altitude work and then two weeks on the east coast of the United States, where we would play two games in extreme humidity. As a manager, it's essential to reflect on your own performance and the team's, but for me, that took just a weekend. I always thought the work done over the summer months determines how the next season will go, and recruitment is almost everything. I would not wait until the end of the season to start putting those plans in place and, right now, I would be working hard to ensure I got the best signings my club could afford. ## Releasing Players At the end of every campaign, you know you also have the job of releasing players - young and old. Delivering the bad news was always difficult, but it was a situation I approached head-on. I worked lower down the leagues for many years and not always in the Premier League, and those players have never been on enormous wages and can suffer from financial hardship, just as much as anyone else who is out of work. For the young players you are letting go, you know their aspirations take an enormous hit, while with the senior players who have families to provide for, you know they could end up on benefit payments if nothing comes up. Whenever I released young players, I always wanted to do it face to face. ## Early Career I was still a teenager when I broke into the Bristol Rovers first team. When I'd just turned 18, although I was about to join the professional ranks, I'd still always go back to Wales and spend time with the lads I grew up with. At this time, I had just started dating Deb, who is now my wife, so my nights out at the weekends were changing anyway. My mum and dad were much happier if I was spending time with Deb, because it would be better for my career. One particular Easter, Rovers had played a home game on the Saturday and I wasn't involved. I travelled back to Wales and took Deb out for dinner but, on the way out, I met up with the gang from Pill, the area I was born in, in Newport. After a few drinks, they convinced me to play with them the next morning, in a semi-final of a Sunday League cup competition.