Dave Bassett opens up on surprise secret struggle as Sheffield United legend makes candid later-life admission
Dave Bassett opens up on surprise secret struggle as Sheffield United legend makes candid later-life admission
To anyone who remembers the cocksure character who has the unique honour of being named the best manager in the history of two different clubs, details of Dave Bassett’s secret anxiety battle may come as some surprise. The Sheffield United legend, now 81, also achieved a similar status during his iconic time at Wimbledon.
But it is almost 36 years now since Bassett’s crowning glory at Bramall Lane, leading United into the first division on that iconic day at Leicester City and in more recent times he has suffered some health issues. Treatment on his prostate removed cancer but left him with a bladder issue that requires maintenance.
Radiation damage to his bowel is another side-effect of the treatment while another unseen one manifested itself inside his head. “There’s a little bit of anxiety as you get older,” the managerial legend admitted.
“It happens to a lot of people as you get older. You're not as confident and you're not as as dynamic as you were in the early days. Sometimes I forget I'm 81 and still think I'm 45 or something, and that I can still do these things.
“I can't quite understand when I go for a walk and walk further than I expected, I come in fatigued and sort of want to sit down and not get up at all. The anxiety is more with making decisions these days, which my wife can't understand. I'm not the guy that she married and all of a sudden, you become a little bit affected.
“The tech situation online drives me mad. You can't get on the phone to anybody, you can't speak to anybody and you then become reliant. And I don't like being reliant. I was never reliant on anybody else. Even when I was in amateur football and playing, I had my own business in insurance, and a building business as well.
Dave Bassett opens up on surprise secret struggle as Sheffield United legend makes candid later-life admission
“And that life was no problem to me, but unfortunately it came back. My mum suffered a bit later in life with nerves and lupus and that type of thing. But I’m okay, I can get about. I go to a few games but the eyesight's not as good as it used to be, with the numbers and the sharpness of football.
“You've got to be on top of it and of course, I like to be in control. But a lot of the Wimbledon players have got a lot of time for me because they sort of grew up with me. I told them to buy houses and things like that, and a lot of them have been very successful. And with the Sheffield United boys, I'm thought well of as well.”
Bassett was speaking to former journalist Neil Ashton on his Sacked! podcast recently, in which he also opened up on the other experiences in his legendary career which also took in eventful spells at Watford and Crystal Palace as well as United and Wimbledon.
But it was his mental health experiences that were perhaps the most revealing, with many having the vision of Bassett as a brash Cockney who was immune to such challenges. He bravely sought help via the League Managers’ Association and began sessions with a sports psychologist.
“He’s been very helpful,” Bassett added. “Some if it is just what happens due to your age, and it’s quite normal for people to start to lose a bit of confidence and everything else that goes with it.
“He thinks I’ve got good perspective now and that I’m doing reasonably well. He's more optimistic sometimes than I am, because I still want to be like I was. But I realise that you can’t and you have to come to terms with it.
“I have days where I feel good and enjoy it and then there are other days where I worry about things. About my daughters, about my wife. But she’s been terrific, supporting me and looking after me and everything else. So I've got to get on with it.
“I can go out, it's not like I'm stuck indoors. I make sure I go out and see people. I can't play as much golf as I want to and I have to accept that as a factor. I think my problem is that I haven’t got a lot of hobbies.
“I wasn’t a reader because I’m dyslexic. I’m not saying I was bad but I read the newspaper, and some of it doesn’t make sense. I just sort of felt that I needed a bit of help really. I wasn't being compassionate to myself.
“I was thinking about all the things I should have done. The psychiatrist said to me: ‘I’ve looked on Wikipedia, and you haven’t done too bad. You won promotions, managed over a thousand games. All you’ve done is told me what you should have done.’
“He told me that was a big error, that I wasn’t being compassionate to myself. Beating myself up unnecessarily. Some other friends were saying to me: ‘You’ve done well from where you've come from.’
“To go and have the career I did and have some great laughs. Wimbledon was brilliant and at Sheffield United, the atmosphere was one where everybody enjoyed coming to work. It was a laugh, everybody got on with it and they were all determined and it was a team spirit.
“We had great spirit in those two teams and we we didn't fear anybody. Whoever we played, we weren’t frightened at all. We beat Liverpool, we beat Manchester United and we made careers with players who were discarded really, in a way.”
As attitudes continue to change around mental health speaking out about its challenges is becoming more and more prevalent but it also seems to remain a taboo subject amongst certain generations - which makes Bassett’s honesty even more commendable.
“It was easy [to seek help],” he admitted in typically straightforward style. “I thought: ‘Let’s go and see what he has to say ... let’s go and see if he can help me.’ That’s what he’s there for.
“We all go through things in life but I never thought I would [go through this]. But all of a sudden things creep up on you and you never know where your thoughts may go. The brain is a very strong thing, and a determined thing to overcome.”