Hull City head coach Ruben Selles on help from psychologist during Tigers' Championship survival fight - plus family support

You need support mechanisms to cope, with Ruben Selles revealing that he sought an extra a bit of external assistance during Hull City’s intense survival fight.

It was a battle in which the Tigers, albeit narrowly; prevailed, with their Championship status secured on a tense final day of the season at Portsmouth thanks to Matt Crooks’ goal in a 1-1 draw, with Selles celebrating with fans amid relieving scenes at the away end at Fratton Park last Saturday.

During his time in East Yorkshire, the City head coach has called upon the services of a psychologist - as he has previously done in his coaching career - to assist in terms of his mindset, approach and the messages he is relaying to his staff and players.

Selles, hoping to stay on and continue his work at the club - who are conducting a review into last season’s disappointing campaign before plotting a way forward - said: "I still use a psychologist.

"It’s part of my support team and I still use him because, especially in the position I occupy, there are a lot of situations which require some emotional intelligence and to manage.

"I need that advice and those comments. Sometimes, it’s just about talking to someone about something that is not even anything related to football.

"I think I need that and it’s my personal choice and I think it’s a position where, if you can as a football club, you always need to have it.

"It’s not just a football club, but any big company, you need to have ‘personal spaces’ to create the right environments and the culture and they are more qualified than anybody to support that."

Selles has also employed a psychologist to work with his family, who have also experienced the stresses and strains of life being close to someone in a high-profile and very public role.

He continued: “We try to use it because for me and my family, it is not a common life.

"Kids change schools, environments and friends and you think everything is nice and easy, but it is not and it’s much better to give them that support than discover later on in life that this situation can sometimes cause problems.

"It’s a very natural thing for us.”