‘We feel like our mental health has been disregarded’

MACCLESFIELD Town’s players and staff have got together and released their own powerful statement - which has not appeared on any of their official club channels.

The Silkmen face an uncertain future with the threat of relegation hanging over their heads.

Now the players and staff claim they are suffering badly with their mental health and that there are some who are ‘doing everything that they possibly can to remove us from the League’.

The statement said: “Although we have to respect the outcome of the recent EFL vote regarding how points per game should be calculated, this further exemplified the fact that our ultimate fate will be determined far away from the field of play.

“This is despite the fact that we won more than double the amount of games as our closest rivals and amassed 14 more points than them on the field of play.

“In our opinion, this compromises the premise of sporting integrity and further penalises those who are the true victims of this heart-wrenching tale most - the players, the staff and our wonderfully loyal fans.

“We feel like our own mental health has been disregarded at every turn and this has manifested itself in respect of the fact that many of our players and staff have had to battle, and continue to battle, with tangible and often debilitating symptoms of mental illness.

“Fundamentally, the triggering of our mental wellbeing struggles has been down to the way we have been treated by the club in general - there is no getting away from that.

Nobody is saying that as a club we haven’t made mistakes over the past 12 months, clearly we have and monumental ones at that.

“Yet it is also accurate to state that this has been compounded by the actions of others, who are seemingly doing everything that they possibly can to remove us from the League.

“After all we have been through and continue to go through, all we ask now is that sporting integrity is upheld and the previously forgotten voices of all those who have suffered so acutely and in ways which we will never adequately be able to articulate, are finally heard.”

An EFL spokesperson said: “The EFL has partnered with the mental health charity, Mind, over the last two seasons and the collaboration has been vital for improving understanding of mental health in football and raising awareness with fans, all EFL clubs and the wider public.

“Through the partnership, all EFL clubs and Club Community Organisations (CCOs) have been provided with mental health awareness training and consultancy from Mind to help support club staff and players. The partnership also connects each club to their local Mind to continue support and create a legacy on a local level to continue to kick off conversations on the important topic of mental health.”