NHS STAFF ARE REAL HEROES IN THIS FIGHT
ADULATION has followed Jermain Defoe for almost 20 years. From teenage prodigy at West Ham, through successful spells at Portsmouth, Spurs, Sunderland and now Rangers, the 37-year-old’s goalscoring gifts have been idolised by supporters across the UK.
Right now, however, Defoe (below) insists the nation’s genuine heroes exist in a world very far removed from sport. They are the men and women who make up the NHS.
Defoe paid tribute to health workers battling on the frontline against the coronavirus pandemic after joining in the applause that echoed through the streets at 8pm on Thursday evening.
The actions of doctors, nurses and others in the current crisis has only deepened an admiration that was formed amid sorrow. The Ibrox striker watched NHS staff care around the clock for his dad Jimmy, who lost a battle against throat cancer eight years ago.
Defoe also saw everything that was done for terminally-ill young Sunderland supporter Bradley Lowery, with whom he had developed a close bond, before the six-year-old’s tragic passing in 2017.
Those experiences left a gratitude that moved him to offer a heartfelt thank you to the people working tirelessly to save others as Britain tries to cope with the impact of coronavirus.
‘You don’t expect to experience anything like this in your lifetime,’ he said. ‘Everyone has to stick together. We have to give a big shout-out to the NHS doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers, care workers and everyone else.
‘It is an immense challenge. Something we have never faced before. I want to pay respect to those people because they are the heroes in this and I can only imagine what it is like, day in and day out, dealing with the amount of people coming into hospital.
‘Everyone respects nurses and doctors. But my experiences when my dad wasn’t well a few years ago and what I went through with Bradley meant I saw it first-hand.
‘I remember going to see my dad in hospital in 2012. I watched how the nurses and doctors worked every day. You would look at the nurses and think: “Wow, you were here all day yesterday and now you are back in first thing”.
‘I’ve always appreciated their work but in the situation just now it’s gone to another level.
‘It can be hard to find words to truly express and describe what they are doing. They have been amazing.
‘I’ve been blessed that I have had a good career. You get people who idolise you and stuff like that. But if you compare it to what they are doing, they are the true heroes and people need to applaud them. It’s an immense challenge. But I believe it is a challenge we can win because of the work they are doing.’
Defoe insists football has to take a back seat while the pandemic continues and all the Ibrox players have been given individual training programmes by Rangers’ head of performance Jordan Milsom.
‘There are more important things happening in the world than football,’ he told talkSPORT. ‘People are dying every day. Football is not important at this time. The most important thing is the people who are suffering and the families who are losing loved ones.
‘Of course, we all miss the game. I’m missing the Rangers fans and my team-mates. I hope we’ll soon be back playing.
‘The club have done wonders. The sports science is on another level. We have an app where all the players have individual programmes. Everything goes back to the sports science team so they know exactly what we are doing. Jordan is unbelievable. He was at Liverpool with the gaffer and is very hands-on.
‘I’ve got my programme on my phone so I know what days I need to work, to recover, to do strength, as I had that issue with my calf, the nutrition side of it and so on.’
Defoe also praised Steven Gerrard’s man-management after picking out Harry Redknapp and Sam Allardyce as two bosses who previously got the best from him.
‘I have to give a shout-out to my current boss. I think he is going to be a top, top manager,’ said Defoe. ‘He’s a natural. He is still new to the job but his door is open if players want to talk about anything. That’s vital as sometimes there is stuff, personal problems maybe, that you feel uncomfortable talking about to a manager. ‘But with Steven you can talk about anything. He reminds me of Harry and Sam in that respect.’