I’ve got to get on with it and that’s what I’ll do. Battling is second nature
TERRY MCDERMOTT, who won three European Cups and five league titles for Liverpool, is the latest football star to be diagnosed with dementia.
The Kop hero whose allaction midfield style is still revered on Merseyside discovered he is in the early stages of Lewy Body dementia after undergoing tests.
His revelation that he is battling against the degenerative disease comes just days after Manchester United’s Denis Law announced he has Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia.
But Mcdermott is determined to carry on with his work as a Liverpool matchday host – he was on duty for yesterday’s game against Burnley – and has already received several messages of support from former Anfield team-mates.
A generation of past greats including England World Cup winners Sir Bobby Charlton, Nobby Stiles, Jack Charlton and Martin Peters were all diagnosed with dementia.
Worrying
Mcdermott, 69, first feared he had a problem during a live stage show chat with his great mate and former Newcastle and England manager Kevin Keegan.
“We were on stage and Kevin was telling a story and handed over to me to finish it off,” he explained.
“My mind went blank and I said I couldn’t remember what had happened next. The audience started laughing thinking it was part of the act.
“Kevin saved the situation by taking the mickey out of me and continuing himself with the tale but it left me worrying that something wasn’t right. There were a few other instances where I struggled to explain things.”
Urged by his wife Carole to undergo an examination Mcdermott discovered he had the early stages of Lewy Body dementia which leads to a decline in thinking and reasoning.
Carole added: “It’s not always about forgetting things or not knowing where he is going, it’s more about him getting confused and not explaining properly what he wants to say.
“He also worries more. Years ago he didn’t worry about a thing. That’s all part of his condition. He can get anxious about stupid things.”
Terry wonders whether countless games of head tennis with Keegan during their time together as manager and assistant at Newcastle in the 1990s has contributed to his condition. He said: “Kevin and I used to play head tennis for instance every day after training. Having said that most of the players also took part and to my knowledge none of that Newcastle team has been affected so who knows?
“I’ve got to get on with it and I will. It’s the way I’ve been brought up. Nothing has come to me easily.
“I’m not frightened of taking it on and also as we’ve seen there are a lot of former players in a worse state than me. Battling is second nature. The worst thing was until my condition was diagnosed you don’t know what’s going on. The number of former players being diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimers is frightening.”
The Liverpool side of the 1970s plundered silverware. And many fans believe his headed goal following a breathtaking move in the 7-0 win over Spurs in 1978 was the club’s greatest ever.
But with the growing belief hours of heading a football can impact on a player’s brain and induce dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, English football has this season introduced new regulations.
Professional players are now limited to 10 ‘higher force’ headers (aerial balls from more than 35 yards) a week in training. The PFA are backing research into why footballers are more than three times likely to develop dementia.
Mcdermott believes being around Anfield on match days with friends like Kenny Dalglish (above) will help him confront his condition.
“I’m looking forward to going down seeing the lads (former team-mates) people I have known for years and having a good craic with them,’’ he admitted.
“Thankfully there are games coming up regularly now which I can go to.”
I’m looking forward to going to Anfield and seeing the lads ...people I have known for years and have a good craic with