Senne Lammens has been drawing inspiration from some of sport’s greatest icons as he pursues his own path to excellence. Rather than studying football matches during his downtime, he’s been immersing himself in books about figures such as Tiger Woods and LeBron James.

The strategy appears to be paying dividends, given that Lammens has emerged as one of the key figures in Manchester United’s recent resurgence. The Belgian shot-stopper has cemented his position as United’s first-choice goalkeeper – and has been delivering impressive performances since his £18m switch from Royal Antwerp in September.

Lammens acknowledges that his interest in sporting icons is providing the motivation behind his own ascent to the elite level.

The keeper disclosed his distinctive approach whilst visiting a Manchester school ahead of ‘World Book Day’, representing the Manchester United Foundation.

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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 adversit 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 some time to adjust to the spotlight that accompanies life as a United star.

Yet he is relishing the pressure of contributing to United’s recent revival under interim boss Michael Carrick.

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.”