Former Nottingham Forest star Stan Collymore has opened up about his battle with mental health in a bid to raise awareness on the subject.
All of this weekend's FA Cup third round ties are kicking off a minute late as part of the "Heads Up" campaign promoting mental health.
Collymore has dealt with mental health issues throughout his life and football career.
Writing for The Mirror, he recalled how views on mental health have changed over the years, and how it has affected him personally.
Collymore's problems surfaced towards the end of his time at Liverpool, before joining Aston Villa in 1997.
"The joy of joining Villa, the club I support, gave me a lift initially but the issues returned a year and a half later and I spoke to Jim Walker, the physio there," he wrote.
"He recognised immediately that I had a mental health issue and put me in touch with those who pointed me to The Priory.
"Going there meant missing an FA Cup fourth-round tie against Fulham and I remember watching the furore that caused on Sky, which only made matters worse.
"I’d been named as a substitute but didn’t go to the game and the manager John Gregory laid into me in the press.
"My agent, Paul Stretford, released a statement explaining I was ill and I got battered by one newspaper in particular. It said: Kick this fool out of your club, how dare he have a clinical illness.
"But it was simple, it was either speak out or die, and I chose the former.
"Three or four weeks later, Jim called to tell me Gregory needed me and I ran out to face Leeds at Villa Park in front of 40,000 people having taken Prozac for the best part of a month.
"I was out of it and, although I was on the pitch, I didn’t know where I was."
Collymore commended the FA campaign to raise awareness but feels more still needs to be done.
"What I’d like to see now is a three-pronged attack on mental-health problems with all Premier League and EFL clubs employing specialists full time instead of merely having them on call," he added.
"And I’d like to see a greater general commitment from the FA, the Premier League, EFL and PFA to supporting those in need.
"I’d also be a massive advocate of players, particularly those who earn the big bucks, being encouraged to spend some of their money on regular tune-ups with their own psychologists just to make sure there’s nothing unusual going on in their thinking.
"Things have come a long way in 21 years, this weekend’s initiative is proof of that.
"But, as I’ve said before, football needs to realise that brain injuries have to be taken as seriously as, if not more seriously than, muscle strains or broken bones."
