England's Gordon on chess, boxing and Ronaldo's books

Sometimes England and Newcastle guardant Anthony Gordon wakes up and writes down his goals for nan day. Not conscionable football, but "for life arsenic well".

Liverpudlian Gordon, 23, is 1 of a number of this existent England Euro 2024 squad to speak openly astir manifestation and visualisation - mounting retired targets that you want to travel true.

"Sometimes I do it successful nan greeting and visualise who I want to beryllium for that day," says Gordon.

"It's conscionable astir mounting your intentions to who you want to beryllium and it allows you to do that a batch easier.

"We're each people very affectional and erstwhile you're affectional you thin to make bad decisions. It's trying to travel distant from those emotions and trying to spot nan bigger picture."

Gordon said to BBC Radio 5 Live's Steve Crossman astatine England's Blankenhain campy connected Tuesday astir his emotion of boxing, chess and psychology books...

Gordon near boyhood nine Everton for Newcastle successful January 2023, successful a woody worthy up to £45m. He had been astatine Goodison since nan property of 11.

"I deliberation everyone successful Liverpool likes boxing. I deliberation each kid conscionable finds themselves successful nan section boxing club.

"You turn up watching it arsenic well. On nan pitch, I deliberation it makes maine much aggressive, play pinch much tenacity.

"Before I started [boxing], I was down a lot. I would get pushed disconnected nan shot a lot.

"And past erstwhile I started doing it, it brought retired a different broadside of me, aggression, and conscionable wanting to win, much desire successful those battles."

Gordon besides says he likes nan "deep thought process" of chess and nan "hard challenge" of learning really to play.

“I deliberation chess is simply a life accomplishment because it applies to everything. You've ever sewage to deliberation one, two, 3 moves ahead.

“Chess I really taught myself - I didn't person a hint really to play it. I conscionable learned by playing.

"I conscionable emotion it. It's a very serene game. It gets my encephalon working, which I love."

In an question and reply connected The Overlap pinch erstwhile Premier League defender Gary Neville earlier this year, Gordon gave an penetration into his intelligence toughness and his emotion of books connected psychology and sport.

He revealed nan book that has had nan biggest effect connected him is Winning by Tim Grover. The writer is nan erstwhile trainer of NBA legends Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.

Gordon says: "That's an unthinkable book astir mentality and nan things you've sewage to spell done to really succeed. It's fundamentally saying you tin do everything you consciousness for illustration you tin do and still travel up short. But you won't person regrets then.

"He's stepping you done high-level sport. To beryllium astatine nan very top, things we spell done each azygous time are reliable and crazy sometimes.

"Not a batch of group would cognize we spell done truthful galore different emotions. Then it's dealing pinch them and being composed and we still person to execute sloppy of what's going on.

“He's giving you ways to woody pinch that, truthful it helped maine massively."

Gordon told BBC Sport that he has 3 books pinch him successful Germany - Dan Carter's The Art of Winning and Leadership, David Goggins' Never Finished and Life Force by intelligence Tony Robbins.

On Life Force, Gordon explains: "[Manchester United goalkeeper] Tom Heaton was talking astir Ronaldo astatine nan array nan different time and said that was nan book he was reference and suggested it to nan Man Utd lads.

"I was earwigging and thinking, 'If Ronaldo sounds it, I'm going to person a small publication and spot if I tin prime thing out!'"

On nan taxable of visualisation, Gordon says it is simply a shape of "meditation" for him and he "loves" nan "deep reasoning and really challenging my mind".

He says he tries to play nan crippled retired earlier it happens, different scenarios for different opponents.

England play Denmark connected Thursday successful their 2nd group crippled aft an opening 1-0 triumph complete Serbia successful which Gordon did not feature.

“When you're affectional and tired, you're astir apt going to make worse decisions," explains Gordon.

“So if I tin group my intentions and visualise them earlier nan game, I tin travel a clearer way to my intentions."

Gordon recorded career-best figures of 11 goals and 10 assists successful nan 2023-24 Premier League season, connected nan backmost of being named subordinate of nan tournament arsenic England won nan European Under-21 Championship successful July 2023.

He only writes down short-term goals "as if they person already happened" and a day to execute them by.

"That gives maine nary clip to statement them and conscionable it's a clear way to follow," he explains.

This started astatine that U21 tournament.

"I came disconnected a play erstwhile I was struggling. I had conscionable joined Newcastle and I couldn't really get successful nan team.

"I went to nan Under-21 Euros and my main extremity was to triumph subordinate of nan tourney and to triumph nan tournament, which I did.

“They were 2 monolithic goals that person gone connected to alteration my life really, because my trajectory [since then] has gone upwards.

"My main extremity past twelvemonth was to beryllium Newcastle's astir important player. So I'm ne'er coming off, I want nan head to ever judge successful me, moreover if we're struggling, I want him to worth maine and having maine connected nan pitch."