Mike Conway (Courtesy of Jason Dasey)

Australian champion Sydney FC is setting new records at home and turning heads with its recent performances on the Asian stage. And as much as its possession-based soccer has paved the way, mental agility and emotional intelligence have also played a significant role.

Sydney FC hosts Shanghai Shenhua in its final group game on the 2018 AFC Champions League (ACL) on April 18, knowing that a victory is likely to take them through to the knockout stages. The Sky Blues revived their campaign with a stunning 4-1 triumph away to the Suwon Samsung Bluewings on April 3 that followed a 1-1 draw with Kashima Antlers three weeks earlier.

For salary cap-shackled Aussie clubs to do well against big-spending East Asian sides takes a massive effort, plus considerable self-belief. But Sydney FC is determined to follow in the footsteps of 2014 ACL winner Western Sydney Wanderers after a disappointing couple of seasons for A-League representatives.

Helping Graham Arnold’s side progress to a new level is English-born “mind guru” Mike Conway, who has been Sydney FC’s emotional intelligence, resilience and mental agility coach for the past two seasons. A Manchester United fan who was once the business head of the children’s music group, The Wiggles, he helps players’ decision-making processes while building confidence and teamwork.

“Emotional intelligence is very important. It’s about self-awareness, who you are and how you manage things when you get frustrated, sad or lose concentration,” Conway said.

“That’s on the internal side. On the external side, it’s about communication, compassion and empathy for people within a team [...] looking after each other and trusting each other.”

Conway spends time each week around the Sydney FC squad, including training sessions at Macquarie University and on match days. He’ll speak to the players — and coach Arnold one-on-one — about their state of mind, concerns and personal targets.

Since the start of the 2016-2017 A-League campaign, Sydney FC has lost only four of 53 games, and has been almost unbeatable at home as it cruised to consecutive premierships. It is 14 points clear at the top of the table ahead of next week’s finals’ series.

But, despite making Asia a priority this season, it made a dreadful start to its ACL campaign, losing its opening two matches at Allianz Stadium to Suwon and Kashima, as it earned a single point out of a possible nine at the halfway point of the campaign. It was quickly written off as a contender on the continental stage.

That was when Conway needed to ensure that negativity didn’t affect the players as they prepared for their remaining ACL games.

“My role was dealing with their disappointment of losing when they thought they were going to win, because we’ve hardly lost at home in two years. So you’ve first got to understand what that feels like,” Conway said.

“It was all about ensuring that frustration didn’t set in and making sure that the players continued to trust the system, because that trust is very important. The best teams in the world are people who trust each other — not just in soccer, but in everything.”

Conway built an impressive corporate career in the United Kingdom and Australia, working for the likes of Ernst and Young, Standards Australia and Deloitte and Touche. And his love of soccer saw him become a board member at Central Coast Mariners for two years before helping Sydney FC through his own company XVenture, which focuses on corporate leadership, learning and personal development, with its own New Zealand TV series.

Turning 57 this week, he’s still a weekend warrior midfielder on the field near Sydney’s northern beaches, sporting a smashed-up nose during our interview from a flying elbow picked up in a weekend game. He added that his success in working with Sydney FC’s international stars like Alex Brosque, Milos Ninkovic and Adrian Mierzejewski boils down to earning their trust and helping them plan for future success.

“I use a solutions-oriented approach, which blends lots of different techniques, both clinical and non-clinical. I’m looking at things that can help move someone forward, rather than reflecting on the past,’’ he said. “What techniques used will depend on an individual and circumstances at the time, and include positive psychology techniques, emotional intelligence and reaction times and decision making.

“Whatever the case, I’m aiming to ensure the whole team has a positive mental attitude towards achieving its goals.

“Rather than a player saying ‘I’ve taken seven or eight penalties and keep missing them’, we try to break that nexus and find positive moments. Let’s make it about how you’d like the next penalty to be.”

If Sydney FC beats Shanghai Shenhua at Allianz Stadium next Tuesday and Suwon fails to win in Japan against the already-qualified Kashima, the Aussies can book their place in the ACL Round of 16 next month. And then its emotional intelligence will need to lift to a whole, new level.

— The writer is a Singapore-based TV broadcaster and event emcee. Twitter: @JasonDasey

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