#PLStories – #MarkHughes admits #Suicide thoughts existed when he was young player and no-one to reach out #MUFC

Former City boss Mark Hughes says he would have found it “very difficult” to ask for help as a young football player. The ex-Manchester United player says there were times when he felt anxious about his future and his career and though he never felt “in danger” he admits “support wasn’t there”. During a press conference with Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and LMA chief executive, Richard Bevan, Mr Hughes said he recognises that football can leave players and managers vulnerable to suffering from mental health issues or contemplating suicide.

Mark Hughes said “It’s difficult in football clubs. There’s a lot of emotions and disappointments. More disappointments than successes if we’re honest. Being able to recognise when someone is struggling with those disappointments and maybe they’re losing their job and showing signs that they’re struggling to cope with decisions that will impact them, that must help the guys making the decisions as well.”

Speaking about his own time as a player, Hughes said there was a different attitude to mental health.

Mark Hughes said “If you showed weakness you were told to ‘just get on with it, pull yourself together’ and show more strength and be strong mentally. Clearly now in this day and age we know it’s very difficult to maintain your mental health at a constant level. Sometimes you need help.”

Mr Hughes says he has had moments in his own career when he has felt anxious and unsupported.

Mark Hughes said “For me as a young player, I came from a small town in north Wales and I know for a fact it would have been very difficult for me to hold my hand up and ask for help that I possibly needed at that time. There were occasions when I was anxious about my future, where my career was going to lead, when I was struggling and not playing well. It never got to the point where I felt in danger, but that support wasn’t there. It’s definitely improved, but you can always add to that.”

Mental health is an issue among managers as well as players, with Leyton Orient director of football Martin Ling one of the few who has spoken out about the difficulties he has faced during his time in management.

Mark Hughes said  “Sometimes you’re forever trying to make the right decisions and allow people to prosper, and sometimes there’s no one there to help you, and that can be a real issue. It’s important to be able to open up. It’s not easy for everybody, people internalise things and men are more guilty of that than anybody, we keep things to ourselves and we don’t want to talk about times or issues that we’re struggling with and that can be detrimental to your health. We’ve got to encourage everybody to be more open.”

LMA chief executive Richard Bevan said Ling’s words, and the death by suicide of former Crawley head coach Dermot Drummy, had helped the organisation learn lessons about how to equip and support managers in the often ruthless environment they operate in.

LMA chief executive Richard Bevan said “Martin Ling has spoken really well and we’ve been on a steep learning curve in recent years. It’s coming back to that last point, it’s making sure the manager and the coach has access to the right toolkit to survive and thrive in the game. We focused on providing mentors, one-to-one support, that’s been one of the great lessons Martin has helped us learn. Dermot was a highly-respected manager and a coach. He was actually studying on the LMA Diploma of Football Management at the time and he was a wonderfully down-to-earth and caring man. There was much learning after he died by suicide to what we should be doing internally.”

Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 49 and women aged 20 to 34. More than 200 people a year die by suicide in Greater Manchester and research has shown that up to 135 people are affected by each death.