Alan Hardy praises Matt Tootle for opening up about mental health struggles

Alan Hardy has praised Matt Tootle after the defender opened up about his mental health struggles and pledged to do more to ensure players are supported at Notts County.

The 26-year-old spoke about his battles with anxiety and depression earlier on in his career, admitting he "thought about ending it" and receiving treatment at the Priory Clinic.

"It takes a lot of guts and it was very brave of him to speak about it," Hardy told the Nottingham Post.

"To a degree, I've got a lot of affinity with what he was saying. People who know me, know that I'm not necessarily a level person; I'm up one day and down the next.

"I'm not comparing myself to Matt Tootle, but I've experienced a little bit of living in highs and lows. And when that low becomes even lower, then I can certainly identify with how low he must have got.

"It's very sad. The problem with mental illness and depression is that when you're at that point, hardly anybody can help you. It has to come from within and you have to dig really deep.

"I haven't seen (Tootle) since he did that interview, so next time I see him I will certainly be shaking him by the hand and saying, 'well done for digging deep and getting yourself out of that'."

Asked if clubs are more aware now about mental health issues among players, Hardy said: "No, I don't think they are. I don't think we are here.

"It's something which I'll be taking with John Wilson, our chief medic, about in the summer; about how we can identify what's going on with the players and whether we should be having some sort of psychological coaching to make sure the guys are in a good place.

"If you're not in a good place mentally, you've got no chance of performing well out on the pitch. I don't think as a society we do enough. It's something that we need to look at. We need to make sure we do more to really help those players. But Matt has done fantastic to come out and say what he's said, and to get himself back on top."

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