× Group 28 Get the latest news from Record Sport with our daily newsletter Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign Up No thanks, close We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. More info × Group 28 Thank you for subscribing! We have more newsletters Show Me No thanks, close See our Privacy Notice It's over eight years since Brian McDermott began the process of coming out “a dark place”. The newly-installed Hibs director of
Football admits he feared he’d never get another
Job in football after going public with the inner demons that had troubled him through his career. Those gloomy times are thankfully in the past as the 62-year-old looks to bring some sunshine to Leith in his new job overseeing every aspect of football operations at Easter Road. But he won’t ever forget that mental toil. Indeed he admits it can play a key role in his ambition to “create something special” at Hibs. Even after leading Reading to the Championship title and promotion into the
Premier League less than three years earlier the now 62-year-old admits winning games as a manager was never a joy. It was purely a relief. McDermott has spent the last year giving talks on his mental health struggle and has previously spoken openly about how he’d turn to drink to help him destress after every defeat. Then it became after every game. Lose, draw or win. Read More Related Articles Brian McDermott reveals secret Celtic role in Ange’s transfer revolution as he turns attention to Hibs stars Read More Related Articles Transfer news LIVE as Celtic and Rangers plus Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibs eye signings Last year he revealed how everything came to a head when he was working as chief scout for
Arsenal on February 15, 2015. Having drank until three in the morning he woke up “broken” and finally turned to his wife for help. He’s never touched a drop since. The former Reading and Leeds boss accepts those mental struggles are not exclusive to him. It’s why he insists being a buffer for anyone at Easter Road is as important as any one of his other roles in the wide-ranging remit in Leith. McDermott said: “This is really important to me. As far as people opening up - staff, players, whoever. It’s so important, if I can help somebody. Because I’ve been in a dark place, and I know what it looks like. “I’ve lived in a place that was quite dark, and I don’t live in that place any more, a day at a time. I feel very, very grateful. I’ve got an amazing family at home, who support me, even to the fact my wife sent me on my way to Edinburgh. “I’ve got a beautiful granddaughter and that’s one of the reasons I said to the boss, ‘if you’re not sure, don’t bring me to his football club’. But they were and I’ve come. “We’ve all got issues at certain times. I never really opened up and talked about them, until 2015. And then I mentioned it in public a year ago, so I’ve been doing lots of talks on it. It’s my journey, and it’s only my journey, but for me if I did struggle on a daily basis - and I don’t - then I’d open up and talk about it. “You want to be there for a football player, a member of staff, to make sure they know they’ve got somewhere to come. I’m not a psychiatrist, I’m not a psychologist, I just lived a certain way and I’ve gone through certain things. I can signpost people for help if they need it. “I remember back in the old days, you never spoke. As a player, you didn’t talk or open up or speak, because it was always, ‘you’ve got to man up’. “Life’s moved on a little bit since those days, we’d like to think. But it needs to be better. “I spoke to Paul Stewart a year ago and he said come out and start talking about your stuff’. I didn’t want to do it because I was frightened. I didn’t know what the reaction was going to be. But it’s been incredibly positive. "That’s a blessing because I thought it might go the other way and some would say ‘is something wrong with him’ and I worried I might never get another job in football because of past issues. “That’s not been the case. I feel stronger for coming out and talking about it. “It’s been really important to me. I’ve talked to Premier League clubs, corporate world, smaller clubs, the referees’ association - all different types of people. “It’s really important to me.” That support must be
music to the ears for Lee Johnson as he targets a European spot in he remaining five games of this season before the process or strengthening for the next campaign begins. The Hibs boss has felt the pressure at times this season. But McDermott said: “I’ve got a perspective on where the boss sits. I know. I’ve been there. “Unless you’ve stood on the line as a manager for one game you will never know. It’s really hard. For me, I did nearly 500 games, and people used to say ‘you look calm’. “I was not calm! When you went 1-0 down my heart rate would drop because I’d think ‘okay now we have nothing to lose and everything to gain’. It was a strange feeling. “Then I remember we went 1-0 up after three minutes with Reading at Elland Road and I thought ‘Oh my God we have 87 minutes of this now’. “Then you get the euphoria of the whistle and the relief. It was never joy, it was relief. “I can’t speak for Lee but that’s how it was for me. It’s an all encompassing job. I like to think in most roles at a football club I’ve sat in the person’s shoes and can talk about it. “There’s too much pressure, definitely. We all want to work hard but you want to enjoy what you’re doing and creating something and making something happen. “For me the most important thing is the collective of the group. A bunch of people working really hard for one common cause. “The pressure is ridiculous. The amount of managers leaving football clubs is ridiculous. It doesn’t make any sense to me. It’s a moving on culture, nobody is building anything. “It’s about building. Mikel Arteta a couple of years ago lost a few games and people were talking about him going but now look what he’s building at Arsenal. It’s incredible. “It’s about trying to create something and that’s what I really believe in. There’s five games left then we have the summer. We’re trying to build. “The processes are in place and I know how good the processes are here. With good processes you will have good outcomes as long as you keep believing in what you’re trying to do. Then in the summer you’re going to go and try again. “It’s about trying to create something special. It’s not easy but it’s doable.” READ NEXT: Read More Related Articles Brian McDermott appointed Hibs sporting director as former Arsenal and Leeds man heads to Easter Road Read More Related Articles Jim Goodwin in Dundee United transfer pledge as permanent Jamie McGrath deal top of summer wishlist Read More Related Articles Jay Idzes in Hibs transfer tug of war with Aberdeen as capital club plan scouting mission for Dutch defender Read More Related Articles Hibs Conference League snub is example for others to follow as Tam McManus changes his mind on B teams Read More Related Articles Shaun Maloney in heated spat with Arsenal loan star's DAD as Wigan boss confronted after relegation Story Saved You can find this story in My Bookmarks. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. Follow Daily Record
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