Senne Lammens would rather read books than watch football and his approach appears to be working at Manchester United, where he's shot to stardom inside a few months
Senne Lammens during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Manchester United at London Stadium.
Senne Lammens has been a revelation since joining Manchester United(Image: Marc Atkins, Getty Images)
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Senne Lammens has been taking tips from some sporting greats in a bid to become one himself. And this involves him reading books about the likes of Tiger Woods and LeBron James in his spare time, instead of pouring over football matches.
The approach seems to be working, considering Lammens has become one of the most influential stars in Manchester United's recent renaissance. The Belgian goalkeeper has established himself as United's No.1 - and is proving a huge success since joining them from Royal Antwerp in an £18m deal in September.
And Lammens admits his fascination with sporting legends is proving the inspiration behind his own rise to the top. Lammens revealed his unusual approach while speaking at a Manchester school ahead of 'World Book Day', on behalf of the Manchester United Foundation.
He said: "I don't really watch a lot of football. Everything has revolved around football at the club, so you almost want to switch off a little bit mentally.
"Every goalkeeper is different. I'm a big sports guy. I love watching other sports and other athletes do their thing, especially how they prepare and think about their game, because it's a lot of different insights. You can learn a lot from their mentality. Like in the NBA with Kobe Bryant or LeBron James.
"When I have a really good book I read quite a lot (he is currently reading Woods' biography). It's reading about other athletes for example, about mentality and there are lots of good books about dealing with adversity, dealing with stress or stuff like that which can also help you I think in this kind of industry and work."
Lammens admits it took him a while to get used to the attention that comes with being a United superstar. But he is loving the pressure of helping United's recent resurgence under interim manager Michael Carrick.
Senne Lammens
Senne Lammens takes inspiration by reading books about sporting icons(Image: Getty Images)
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He added: "For me personally I don't really try to think about it too much. Pressure is a bit what you make it, what you think and stuff. I try to just relax. It's not too bad for me to be honest.
"If it's going well, it's always nicer. It's getting back into that winning feeling, which has been really really good and I can't praise him (Carrick) enough.
"The camaraderie in the dressing room is pretty on point, and quite a nice place to be at the moment. The togetherness is really there."
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