As someone who prefers to view football with the eyes rather than through the lens of myriad optics, maybe there's a case for players to do the same.

It occurs to me that something along those lines was involved in Henrik Pedersen's declared and ultimately truncated mission to brainwash a more attacking mindset at Sheffield Wednesday. The change of manager hasn't removed a clear issue.

But there's a general point here, which may apply to many managers and not just Pedersen's successor, Dave Challinor, who sounds like he's very much on the same track ahead of his first home game in charge.

Essentially, forget the metric called "pass completion rate" and focus on two I never knew existed before researching this column.

They are xA and xT. A stands for "assist", the likelihood of a completed pass leading to a goal. T stands for "threat", how much a player's actions increase probability of scoring.

Good luck with both because it strikes me, with the amount of ponderous sideways and backwards motion in the game as a whole, that players are too often fixated on pass completion. Maybe they dread giving the ball away and being nailed down on it by an army of GPS trackers, optical cameras and event data suppliers.

Seems to me it's a measure worth scrapping by any manager or coach preaching positivity over patience - as Pedersen was moved to do at Hillsborough but which consistently failed to hit home.

Instead, fixate on the xA and xT. Tell players that you'll forgive them giving the ball away if the intent is right.

Of course, there are exceptions. As in defending your box and seeing out a win in the closing stages. But even defenders have a part to play in changing the mindset, considering the times they have possession in oceans of space.

Looking for the forward rather than backwards, sideways option carries risk, further encouraging the chessboard mentality.

This can take hold in midfield too, where a safe pass only gives the opposition more time to organise themselves.

But you can understand why the individual takes the soft option. It's called human nature. So managers and coaches have to somehow break down a natural reflex. But fans can help.

Instead of groaning over a positive pass that goes astray, applaud the intention. Because you should want the same attempt next time.