Social worker out to take care of Wolves
HOWARD BEVERLAND is under no illusions about the scale of the task facing Crusaders when the part-timers from Belfast face Wolves in the Europa League at Molineux tomorrow. But the 29-year-old centre back can put the challenge in perspective because he is used to overcoming hurdles in his day job as a social worker. ‘I work in mental health services, Monday to Friday,’ Beverland tells Sportsmail. ‘Young kids from four to 17 are referred to our service through their GP. It is obviously different to football but it is a job I really enjoy.’ While Wolves have been touring China, beating Manchester City on penalties in the Premier League Asia Trophy, their next opponents have been balancing training with work. Typically Crusaders have two sessions on Mondays, are off on Tuesdays, go in on Wednesday mornings and Thursday nights, then have Friday off. Like every other member of the side, Beverland has booked a couple of days away from work in Belfast to feature against Wolves, with bosses understanding that, as he says, ‘it will take an awful lot to top this experience in our football careers’. Crusaders plan to soak up the occasion but Beverland will be happy to return to the office for a job he finds very rewarding. ‘Some kids have a bad start to life and experience problems at home or bullying,’ he says. ‘It leaves some struggling to manage emotionally and socially. If you are able to help one young person you can help a family, and if you can help a family you can help a community. ‘There was a case with a young person who had experienced a lot of issues. There was parental separation and he had no contact with his dad. It left him with a feeling of rejection, his self-worth being low, and it resulted in self-harming. We began to work through that, talk to him to explain there are other ways to express emotions. We had to tell him, “You are not responsible for the decisions your parents made and you’ve done nothing wrong”. ‘Once he began to see that he realised there is still a lot to achieve in life. That’s when things started to get back on track in school, the self-harming stopped, and relationships improved within his family.’ Beverland’s involvement in football, with Crusaders having won the Northern Irish title in three of the past five seasons, helps him communicate with younger people. ‘The key thing I’ve learned is that if you build a rapport early, can talk in a language they understand, you’re a big part of the way there. The more they can confide, the more you can do something for them.’ Beverland has found giving counselling helps him, too. ‘When I turn up for a game, you can feel the pressure and see how that makes you a different person,’ he says. ‘Part of that keeps you sharp, on your toes.’ He appreciates that Wolves should progress but still holds hope. ‘You look at FA Cup games where big clubs play smaller teams and there are shocks every year,’ he says. ‘We want to give a good account of ourselves. People from Northern Ireland have a great deal of pride. We play for the badge, the shirt, our fans. We will give our all.’