THERE were a fair few crushing lows in amongst all the euphoric highs that Jackie McNamara enjoyed in his playing career.

McNamara won every honour in the Scottish game several times over, took part in a European final, was named Footballer of the Year twice and represented his country at a World Cup during his trophy-laden spell at Celtic.

Yet, he also feared his dream of becoming a professional could be finished when he suffered a serious leg break as a teenager, failed to prevent Rangers from winning Nine-In-A-Row, struggled to establish himself in the national team and felt he was forced out of Parkhead after a decade of dedicated service. 

It took a single-minded determination for him to bounce back from those devastating setbacks and savour the sort of success that he did. 

“Fighting has been my whole life,” he said at Celtic Park yesterday as he launched his autobiography His Name Is McNamara.

Glasgow Times:

“I fought to be a football player, fought to make it because of my size. I was rejected when I was a kid. I don’t think I went out to prove people wrong. I just wanted to be a footballer, wanted to get better and maximise my potential. I feel I did that.”

Would McNamara be back in Glasgow promoting his new book if he did not possess such reserves of inner strength?

In February last year he found himself fighting for his very life after suffering a brain aneurysm at his home in North Yorkshire. He was rushed to Hull Royal Infirmary, placed into an induced coma and given emergency surgery. But his problems did not end when he came out the other side. 

“There was a long line of different things that I had to fight against,” he said. “I would think I was out of the woods and then something else would happen.

“About a week after I came out of the coma I was speaking to my dad and my brother and I couldn’t communicate. Fortunately, my wife had noticed and said to the nurse. I got rushed for a CT scan and taken back into intensive care. I was about to have a stroke. It is called a vasospasm.

“When I got out of the hospital the first time I thought I was okay. Then I started getting headaches. I was told this could happen and advised just to take paracetamol. But the headaches were quite severe.

“I ended up getting hydrocephalus, which is water on the brain. It was triggered by the trauma. I had holes in my head and tubes coming out of me. I was taken back into hospital and got a shunt fitted. It is a little contraption at the back of my head that controls the fluid and drains it into my stomach. 

“Even in January there I had a stent fitted because the artery was looking like it was starting to curve again. They put a stent in to divert the blood away from that. So it has been a long road.”

McNamara continued: “But I have been very fortunate and privileged to have the help and expertise of the people in the NHS. How they do their work is just incredible. I had to learn how to do everything again – how to walk, how to talk, things you take for granted.

“It is amazing how you can recover. In the darkest moments, I didn’t think I had a chance. Not just of survival, but also of avoiding major brain damage. So I feel extremely lucky. When you hear about other people you realise just how lucky you have been.”

McNamara was touched by the support that he received from all over the world – including from the former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who suffered a brain haemorrhage in 2018 - when he was recuperating in hospital.

McNamara, who looks the picture of health now as he talks in detail about his brush with death and playing days in the Jock Stein Lounge, is optimistic that recounting the ordeal that he went through will prove beneficial to those who are in the same unfortunate position as he was as well as their families and friends. 

“When I was coming around again, the drugs started to wear off and I saw all the messages from all different kinds of people all around the world, Celtic fans, Rangers fans, total strangers,” he said. “I was shown the video of the Celtic fans singing my name in the stadium. It was touching.

“Quite early on, just after I came out the coma, I got informed that Sir Alex had messaged the hospital. It was quite emotional watching his documentary Never Give In earlier this year. It took me back to when I was going through the same experiences.

“For example, he was writing things down and was worried about his memory. I had a lot of issues with that in the months after I came out of hospital. It comes back with the rehabilitation work that you do – memory tests, exercises to help you with certain things. It is amazing how the brain can recover.”

McNamara added: “Hopefully reading my book might help somebody else. It is difficult both emotionally and physically. I think I have been one of the lucky ones in terms of my recovery.

“Quite a few people have contacted me and messaged me on social media about things that have happened to me. Just hearing from somebody else who has gone through what their loved ones are going through and knowing what to expect in recovery is helpful.

“I thought I was relatively healthy for a 46-year-old at the time. I had been on the treadmill in the gym a couple of days before I collapsed. It is one of these things that could have happened at any time. I think I am one of the fortunate ones to survive it.”

 

His Name Is McNamara by Jackie McNamara with Gerry McDade is published by Pitch Publishing and is released on Monday, September 6.