Soccer

I don’t want people to feel sorry for me – Dean Windass on dementia diagnosis

Windass found out he had stage two dementia last year but the news only became public earlier this month.

Dean Windass hopes his diagnosis can help others
Dean Windass hopes his diagnosis can help others (Richard Sellers/PA)
By PA Sport Staff

Dean Windass hopes news of his dementia diagnosis can help others in the same position but he does not want people to “feel sorry for me”.

The 55-year-old, a former favourite with Hull, Bradford and Aberdeen, found out he had stage two dementia last year but the news only became public earlier this month.

Former Manchester United defender David May broke the news during a television appearance, having sought permission from Windass, leading to renewed calls for football to formulate a comprehensive dementia strategy – including a care fund for affected players and their families.

Windass has been inundated with messages of support from friends, fans and strangers but wants the conversation to have a positive impact for others.

“The onus is on me because I’m the one who’s been mentioned, it’s opened a massive can of worms and I get that,” he said on his Greatness on Demand podcast.

“It’s nothing to do with Dean Windass, it’s nowt to do with the attention – I get enough attention anyway. I just hope people get the help they deserve. If you’ve got a problem, tell people, because you can’t do ‘owt on your own’.

“If I can help people, that’s brilliant.”

Windass, who scored the goal that sent Hull into the Premier League in 2008, also spoke of his own optimistic outlook.

“I still train every day, I don’t feel any different. My health is fine. I still play football – I don’t head the ball obviously – and that’s the moral of the story,” he said.

Windass was a fan favourite at Hull, sending them to the Premier League in 2008
Windass was a fan favourite at Hull, sending them to the Premier League in 2008 (Nick Potts/PA)

“There’s people far worse off than me. I don’t want people to feel sorry for me.”

The Football Families for Justice (FFJ) campaign is lobbying for an amendment to the Football Governance Bill which would give the independent regulator the power to make it a statutory duty of football authorities to develop a comprehensive dementia strategy.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and the Mayor of the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram, who have campaigned for justice on other issues in the past including the Hillsborough disaster, have given their backing to the cause.