Lee Hendrie and Liam Rosenior discuss mental health issues in professional football
Monday 7 May 2018 23:54, UK
In a special edition of The Debate, Lee Hendrie and Liam Rosenior discussed the issues of mental health currently in professional football.
Scott Minto was joined by Dr Bunmi Aboaba, Hendrie and Rosenior on Monday as the panel talked about the challenges of mental health in professional football ahead of Mental Health Awareness Week - which starts next Monday.
Hendrie, who made 308 appearances and scored 32 goals for Aston Villa between 1995 and 2007, says he "lacked direction" towards the end of his when he was playing professionally.
He said: "I came from a background that wasn't wealthy or flush with cash and I always wanted to be a footballer who would play for his country. You talk about the obsession.
"I wanted to be the best and whether or not I was going to be is a different story. I had that belief that I could be.
"When I got to the 30s stage of my career and I'd played for my country and been in the Premier League for 10 years, That's where it did hit me quite hard.
"The fact I knew I was coming to the back end of my career, I just had no guidance. I was injured and put pressure on myself. I got to the stage that the amount of pressure I put on myself, I just lost myself. I had no direction from anyone and or what position to go to."
Rosenior, who currently plays in the Premier League for Brighton, agrees that the desire to succeed in professional football is what can lead players to suffer from mental health issues at any point in their careers.
He said: "You can feel on top of the world one week and then the next week you can score an own goal that gives the other team a vital win and maybe you get relegated and feel like the loser.
"The differences between the feelings are so vast and that's why I saw my dad go through it and I yearned for that same feeling.
"To make it as a professional footballer, the sheer competition just to make it as a pro means you're an obsessive individual because you are so set on what you want to be.
"Science says if you have an obsessive tendency, you're more prone to addiction and having behaviours that aren't great in the long term. I think that's why footballers in particular are very susceptible to it."
