'I just need to focus on getting myself healthy again' - Kevin Milne reveals why he stood down from Penicuik Athletic role

Kevin Milne has taken a step back from football

Kevin Milne has opened up on his decision to resign from his post as Penicuik Athletic manager, citing that his reason for the departure was down to health concerns.

In an exclusive interview with the Edinburgh Evening News, Milne opted to reveal his full reasoning behind his shock exit from the East of Scotland Premier Division side, explaining it was for the benefit of both his physical and mental well-being.

Milne spoke at length about his mental health struggles in a candid conversation, revealing he had pondered quitting as manager for some time due to the strain the full-time nature of the job has put on him.

”It’s a few personal health problems, nothing too serious. I just need a wee bit of time to deal with it and make sure I get myself right,” said the 38-year-old.

“It’s not really affecting me at football; the football is affecting this, in the sense that I am not focusing on the things I need to be doing. The issue gets you down and feeling depressed, but I deal with it fine, it is just I start to put all my focus into the football, which isn’t fair on my family or myself.

“I remember talking to Tony [Begg, his co-boss at Penicuik] about this probably back in October, as far back as that. I love the team so much, I love Penicuik and doing what I was doing. I was deflecting away from the main issues I had, which I need to focus on. It wasn’t an easy decision, but it was the right decision.

“I probably never told Tony the full story back then, I was just telling him that I was thinking about leaving. He obviously knew probably subconsciously. He probably didn’t want to probe at it - and that was fine.

“The hardest past was telling the players, committee and the coaching staff. It was a hard night, but I feel good about it now. I just want to get myself back and raring to go and hopefully that’s not too long away.

“Sometimes you put on a brave face and it all builds up, then there comes to a point when it just needs to be released. Tony is a great guy and he’s a good mate as well, so I think he knew when things weren’t right and he would ask me. When you hear about mental health issues, it’s always, ‘aye, I’m fine’, you almost want to try and brush it off and you don’t want to bring it into the club.”

Milne has been overwhelmed with he support his Penicuik squad and everyone involved with the club have given him since speaking out. He was inspired to talk, with the likes of former world heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury one of several high profile sportsmen to have openly discussed their mental health struggles in recent years. Milne is now urging anyone else struggling to speak out.

He continued: “No matter the scale of how you are feeling, even if it is just minute, open up about it. I would consider my issue as relatively small, but I am dealing with it before it escalates into something big. If anyone can talk about their issues early on or deal with it, it helps so much.

“I have taken a lot inspiration from hearing things from people opening up and talking on TV, like Tyson Fury and [Celtic striker] Leigh Griffiths - people like that, that are in the limelight. They have probably had it a hell of a lot worse than I’ve had, but regardless of the scale of it, it is important to speak to your family, speak to your friends so it doesn’t get any bigger. If you can recognise it early then I think you can deal with it. You have to be brave and recognise it early.

“It is more common than what people think. I wouldn’t say it is a huge issue for me at the moment; I haven’t had extreme thoughts or anything like that. I just felt it was an opportunity to not to get to that stage. Sometimes you need to just take a wee step and focus on what is really important, which is your physical and mental health.

“I am gutted it has escalated to this, and I thought I could just deal with both, but I just need to focus on one which is to get myself healthy again. Every manager in this league will tell you, it’s not just a Tuesday, Thursday and a Saturday, it’s Monday, Wednesday and Friday as well. You don’t really switch off from it, it’s constant, and so when you are in a position like that you have to be fully focused on it.”