Clough warns of problems of mental health in football

Talking about mental health is usually a taboo area for young men, but that is especially pronounced among professional athletes such as footballers.

The huge sums of money that professional players receive in the modern age leads many to think that footballers could never have anything to complain about, but the example of a few courageous players has changed that view.

Danny Rose opened up about issues with depression he had encountered after the death of a family memeber, while Burton Albion forward Marvin Sordell has written poetry and spoken very frankly about his battles with depression and attempting to commit suicide.

Sordell's manager, Nigel Clough, believes that football organisations need to do more to help footballers to battle the pressure, scrutiny and responsabilty put on their shoulders that could lead them to mental health problems.

 

October 10, 2017

"The PFA have an increasing workload in this area with professional footballers" Clough said to the 'BBC'.

"It will be a burden for the PFA in the next few years but they have the funds and there is that much money in football at the moment that there should be a fair allocation to deal with these sorts of issues.

"In the dressing room, I'm sure it existed 20 or 30 years ago, but no-one would have come out and admitted to it and think that is the big difference,

"As more players come out and talk, more players will feel more comfortable saying 'yep, I feel like that as well'."