NEW ENGLAND coach Bill Parcells is a master at motivational mind games, and one of his favourites - attacking a player's manhood - has helped put the Patriots in the Super Bowl.

Parcells inspired rookie receiver Terry Glenn to record numbers despite a month of missed workouts, and helped linebacker Todd Collins overcome an injury in 1993.

He did it by calling them "she".

That's as in "She is OK," what he said about Glenn earlier this year, or "She is not ready," what he said to spur Collins back to the field four seasons ago in his first season with New England.

"He sometimes does things to test you," Collins said. "It's just the way he motivates you. You can't sit there and let it get to you. He wants to see how you react in certain situations. How do you react to that? He wants to know how you handle pressure, and whether he can count on you.

"He said something to make sure I was tough, to see how I would react to things in the media," Glenn said of Parcells. "I showed him how tough I am."