The No.1 pullout that scores EVERY time

DANIEL AYALA admits that for 18 months he was a bad husband and a terrible parent.

The Middlesbrough defender says he was hell to be around.

Ayala became so concerned about his state of mind, the Spaniard even saw a psychologist. He knew he couldn’t carry on the same way.

The cause of his problems was an ankle injury picked up two years ago when Boro were battling for promotion to the Premier League.

Looking back, he accepts he should have spent six weeks on the sidelines but instead, he played through the pain. The problem persisted though, with his career – quite literally – on ice.

Ashamed

Now, injury free and buoyed by the arrival of Tony Pulis at the Riverside, the former Liverpool and Norwich centre-half shudders as he recalls those painful days.

“It makes me feel ashamed now because I always should put family first but at that time, all I could think of was my ankle,” he said.

“The year we went up, the manager wanted me to keep playing but I was limping dreadfully, in training and in games. I’d worked so hard to win ®Êby IAN MURTAGH promotion so I played in pain. I had so many injections, at least one per game.

“At home, I was putting my foot in ice six or seven times a day and I’d be checking it 50 or 60 times to see if the swelling had gone down.

“It became an obsession. I had no time for my kids. Whenever my wife suggested we go for a walk, I’d say no because my ankle was so sore.

“She did not even bother arguing because she knew what I was going through.”

One particular night which should have been among the happiest of Ayala’s life makes him squirm with embarrassment. “When Hanna gave birth to our second son, I was sitting there during labour thinking to myself, ‘Hurry up, I have to put my foot in ice’.

“That first year of my second kid’s life I couldn’t enjoy. Now it is passed and I will never get it back.

Frustrated

“I spoke to the club doctor telling him this was not very healthy because I wasn’t even thinking about my kids.

“My wife told me I was always angry and frustrated and she was right.”

Eventually Ayala saw a psychologist and that coincided with the ankle finally showing signs of recovery.

“I knew that if my ankle was fine, I’d become the same person again,” he said.

“For the last two months, it has felt 100 per cent and now my mood has changed.

“I don’t think about body parts any more, I just enjoy my family.” Now Ayala is the daddy both at home and at the Riverside, having scored three goals since Pulis replaced Garry Monk.

The defender is a man on a mission, claiming he never did himself justice in the Premier League last season.

“I feel so sad for last season because I’d worked so hard to go up but couldn’t really prove myself there,” he added.

Today Middlesbrough host Brighton in the FA Cup fourth round at the Riverside and Ayala is looking forward to more success.

“Now I want to win promotion again and also have a good cup run,” he said.

“I like Tony Pulis. He is a manager who loves defenders who are big and strong and I feel that under him we have a bit of momentum.”