SCOTS HERO McQUEEN REVEALS DEMENTIA DIAGNOSIS
GORDON McQUEEN’S DAUGHTER HAYLEY ON THE SCOTLAND LEGEND BEING DIAGNOSED WITH DEMENTIA
GORDON McQueen, the former Scotland, Manchester United and Leeds United defender, has been diagnosed with vascular dementia.
The 68-year-old’s family confirmed the news yesterday in a heartfelt statement which they hope will raise awareness of the disease and its links with football.
McQueen, who began his career at St Mirren, played 30 times for Scotland and won the English First Division title in 1974 at Elland Road and the FA Cup while at Old Trafford in 1983.
‘Dad has no regrets about his career and has lived life to the full,’ said the statement, released by McQueen’s wife Yvonne, daughters Hayley and Anna, and son Edward.
It added that he ‘wants footballers of today to know there may be risks with persistent heading of the ball’.
McQueen, known for his aerial ability, was diagnosed in January and becomes the latest former footballer to be hit by the disease in what is an alarming, growing list. Daughter Hayley, a Sky Sports presenter, told Sportsmail that her father had been experiencing problems for some time.
‘There was one morning when he woke up confused and was saying he needed to go to training, he had to go to the Cliff (Manchester United’s former training ground),’ she said. ‘That was a one-off but there are other things.
‘Sometimes he goes into the kitchen to make a cup of tea and forgets why he’s there, but I think that happens to a lot of us.
‘He kept saying over and over: “My head’s not right, there’s something wrong”. It’s now at the stage where my mum can’t leave the house and leave him alone in there.
‘One of Dad’s great loves has always been eating but unfortunately the majority of his food now has to be pureed. He had throat cancer many years ago and has been fine since, but he has the build-up of scar tissue, which adds to the problem.’
Hayley said that the family took the decision with her father to make the diagnosis public.
‘We were worried about if something happened to him, if the worst thing happened, and we’d not told anyone,’ she explained. ‘They’d have wanted to be in touch. If you don’t know he’s ill, then you don’t get in touch.
‘He has deteriorated a lot in the last year, a lot of which I think is down to lockdown and not being able to interact and socialise. ‘He’s lost weight and looks different because of the food situation and he didn’t want people to be surprised when they saw him. ‘I think he thought he would be too embarrassed with people wondering what was wrong. He’d rather people know and then he’s not hiding something.
‘He still knows us and knows what’s going on, but lockdown has been tough because he loves social interaction and he’s not had that.’
Hayley said that the family had confided in some of her father’s old pals. ‘I saw Graeme Souness at work and was feeling down and depressed because Dad had had a tough week,’ she said. ‘Graeme asked how he was getting on and joked that he’d be struggling (with lockdown) because he can’t play golf. I thought, golf? He can’t leave the house, let alone play golf. I told Graeme, who was shocked but he knows now. Dad had Lou Macari on the other day. It helps and he looks forward to reminiscing.’
The family have been in contact with Dr Willie Stewart, who helped formulate Sportsmail’s dementia campaign and whose FIELD study unearthed the link between footballers and higher instances of neurodegenerative disease.
Dr Stewart carried out the analysis on the brain of England World Cup legend Nobby Stiles which found strong evidence that heading a ball had led to his dementia. That work is ongoing.
‘We’ve had the discussion,’ said Hayley, ‘and when the time comes he’ll make sure that research benefits.’
McQueen, who also managed Airdrie, is in little doubt heading a ball caused his problems.
‘He used to stay behind after training, mainly at Leeds, and practise heading,’ said Hayley. ‘As a kid in Scotland there were no pitches and he used to head the ball against a wall again and again. He wants people to be made aware that there might be problems ahead for them. Make kids aware now.
‘We have no history of dementia in the family and they almost confirmed what’s caused it when we got the results of dad’s scan.’
Hayley, who had a daughter last year, says the family remain hopeful for the future. ‘I don’t care if he doesn’t know what day of the week it is,’ she said. ‘As long as he knows who we are — that’s what matters.
‘My wedding has been cancelled a couple of times and now it’s next year. I want him to walk me down the aisle. I want him to know what’s happening. I want my daughter to know her grandad.
‘Hopefully that will still happen. We tell him we’ve got holidays to look forward to. And we’ve been inundated with messages of support, which I know he’ll enjoy.’
The SFA released a statement last night, saying: ‘We are saddened to learn of former Scotland international Gordon McQueen’s diagnosis with vascular dementia. The thoughts of everyone at the Scottish FA are with Gordon and his family.’