I WAS SO SCARED THAT COVID WOULD KILL ME EXCLUSIVE
STEVE COTTERILL
STEVE COTTERILL was apologetic – he did not feel well enough to talk on the phone about being named League One manager of the month.
That was back in early January and it had been some start as Shrewsbury manager for the experienced Cotterill, who counts the likes of Burnley, Stoke, Portsmouth and Birmingham among his previous jobs.
But with the Shrews about to face Southampton in the FA Cup third round, football was the last thing on his mind as his health suddenly deteriorated.
A few hours after our brief chat, Cotterill, then aged 56, was on his way to hospital – and battling to avoid becoming a grim statistic of the death toll that Covid has inflicted on the world.
He spent 33 days in the Bristol Royal Infirmary – some of it in intensive care. He was
later readmitted when his condition took a turn for the worse – another 16-day stay, during which, at times, he feared for his life.
He recalled: “One night I was determined not to go to sleep because I was really worried that I wouldn’t wake up again.
“It was really scary, awful. Being on oxygen, trying to get
out of bed to use a commode, it knocks you for six.
“At one stage I had to have a Picc line [tube] inserted, but it ended up puncturing a lung, so all the oxygen that was going in was coming out.
“It was like trying to blow up a balloon which had a pin-prick in it.
“I then had this horrible choking sensation, which went on for two weeks. But, thankfully, I’m here to tell the tale and continue my career.
“I can’t thank the people enough who looked after me.”
The messages of support have poured in from throughout the game, and, following his return to the dugout for the start of this season, opposition fans have joined the Shrewsbury faithful in welcoming him back.
Cotterill believes there will still be some tough days ahead as he is now forced to live with long Covid.
“I wouldn’t say I’m back to full health and everything is all right,” he admitted. “On Wednesday, I had a really tired day. All of a sudden having a couple of games back-to-back has been really tiring.
“I’ve got to be sensible to a certain degree and save a bit of my energy. But my staff have been really good. Before
I might have allowed myself to be rushed off my feet and wouldn’t want to ask for help.
“Now I’m not too proud to ask for help. I’ve always been poor at delegating whereas when you do delegate and ask for help it’s amazing how much people come to the fore. Sometimes your staff will do more for you if you ask.
“I realise now that I can’t do it all. I’m going to need time because I’m now stuck with this long Covid, which will take a while to get out of my system.
“But there’s never been a time – and there won’t be in the future – when I ever think, ‘Is it worth it? Should I give up what I’m doing?’. There’s no chance of that. I couldn’t wait to get back.
“It’s now about carrying on and getting my lungs better.” Manager of the month? After what he has been through, there are few better candidates to be Manager of the Year.
One night, I was determined not to sleep as I feared I wouldn’t wake up in the morning. It was all so scary...