SAYING THANKS
Winger Matty Blair salutes all at Doncaster for support in tough times
‘EMOTIONAL rollercoaster’ is a term thrown about all the time to describe football – for Doncaster Rovers’ Matty Blair the experiences of the last few months off the pitch have put the importance of the sport into perspective.
Part of the Rovers side that earned promotion from League Two last season, Blair then had to cope with the devastating loss of his brother Ross, who passed away after a three-year battle with a brain tumour in July at the age of 32.
That came just two months after the joy of Blair’s wife Xanthe giving birth to their first child, Archie.
The 28-year-old is grateful to Rovers boss Darren Ferguson and the club for helping him cope with the highs and lows of the summer, especially the pain of losing his brother.
He said: “It’s probably been the hardest moment of my life but the gaffer has been superb with me and I can’t thank him enough.
know when my family need me back home and the gaffer will give me that time if I need it.
“I genuinely don’t think I could have had better people around me.
“The gaffer, his staff and the lads have been unbelievable with all their messages, and not forgetting the fans as well – they have been incredible.
Positive
“The birth of my baby boy was the best moment of my life, me and my wife have become parents for the first time.
“I’m in a wave of emotions and I’m trying to keep positive. I’ve got my family and friends to help me through what has been a tough time, it’s been an emotional whirlwind.
“I’m a normal person at work trying to do the best I can. I’ve got so many people around supporting me and my family and it’s just incredible. I can’t emphasise enough how appreciative I am.”
Despite the emotions of everything that has gone on, the winger has been able to use football as an escape.
It seems to have worked for Donny, who have made a flying start in League One, notably beating one of the promotion favourites Blackburn 3-1 on the road a fortnight ago.
On Thursday they discovered they will soon be facing another former Premier League-winning side, after being drawn against Arsenal in the third round of the Carabao Cup.
While Blair was not one of those up at four in the morning to follow the draw live, he was quick“I ly made aware of the upcoming trip to the Emirates Stadium.
He said: “I got a text from my brother-in-law to tell me and it all went from there.
“The atmosphere in the camp is really high at the moment and so it should be, the draw of Arsenal away in the cup just adds to that excitement.
“It will naturally come up in conversations the lads have with family and friends.
“As a group of lads we may mention it every now and then but we know we cannot focus too much on it until it’s the next game.
“We don’t want to lose our focus and that’s key to having a good season.
“I think the way we set up at Blackburn, the game plan that we had and the quality we showed going forward will hold us in good stead for the rest of the season – it should be an exciting year
for us.”