Danny Rose is increasingly open to reversing his decision not to bring his family to Russia to attend England’s fixtures having been pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere he has experienced at the World Cup.
The defender had made clear his concerns over potential issues with racism before the finals, and told his family they should not travel. He admitted his father had been “really upset” but said that he had not wanted his own focus to become distracted by concerns for his family’s safety.
However, having witnessed England’s wins in Volgograd and Nizhny Novgorod, and seen team-mates enjoy time with their families on days off in St Petersburg, Rose’s initial intransigence has mellowed. “I just want to get in the team and then, after that, I’d be open [to them coming to Russia],” he told IRN. “I’d definitely be open now to having my family out here, so let’s just hope we win on Thursday and then we beat whoever we play in the next round and we’ll see.”
The left wing-back went public before the finals with details about his depression, triggered by the treatment of a knee injury coupled with family tragedy, and how he had considered time spent away with the England squad as something of a salvation.
“We’ve had family days where we’ve had a day off and the gaffer has allowed people, families, to come to the hotel or we can go to our families’ hotel,” said Rose, who is likely to start Thursday against Belgium. “When people have had their families around, yeah, it has been difficult.
“There’s a few of us here without families here so we’ve not had much to do and it’s been a bit difficult, but I’ve got three weeks just to dedicate my life to England and what we’re trying to do here. I am comfortable in not having my family here. I’m fine, I’m not on the verge of breaking down or anything. So, I’m fine [if his family opt against travelling] and hopefully there’s another two-and-a-half more weeks until the final and it’s not a long time. I’ll be able to manage.”
Yet his brutal honesty on the flip-side of life within professional football remains. “It is the best job in the world, but people seem to think you just get your money at the end of the month and you play every week,” he said. “There’s so much more to football than what people see on a Saturday.” I don’t believe in hiding that from people. Even if I feel very privileged, with the things I’ve experienced within the game, I wouldn’t be shouting from the rooftops to recommend to people’s children to be a footballer because there are a lot of things that happen on a day-to-day basis at club footballs that I wouldn’t wish on anybody.”
“There’s pressure, there’s politics … loads of things. My agent told me when I was 15 or 16: ‘You can have all the ability in the world but if you’re not mentally strong enough football will swallow you up.’ For years, I didn’t have a clue what he was talking about. It wasn’t until this past year where I’ve realised exactly what he’s meant. He’s 100% right.”
