Source: Daily_Mail
Football managers will pay the price if they don't look after their health, warn experts
In the wake of Gerard Houllier's hospitalisation, experts have warned that Football managers have a 'price to pay' if they do not look after their health.[LNB] Dr Dorian Dugmore, who helps run the League Managers' Association's 'Fit to Manage' programme, says former players who become managers have a tendency to neglect their own wellbeing, which can have disastrous consequences.[LNB] [LNB] Enlarge Pressure: Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier was admitted to hospital[LNB]He said: 'It's a very stressful job, which is echoed in terms of heart rate response. That's the effect of adrenaline - it can force the heart-rate to go very, very high indeed.[LNB] 'There's also a lot of stake, in terms of finances and qualification for Europe, for example, so the stresses and strains are considerable.[LNB] 'Many managers are former players and the lifestyle shift from being a player, when the focus is just on looking after yourself, is huge.[LNB] 'Suddenly everyone else is more important and, if you're not careful, you forget to manage the one person who really matters.[LNB] 'Managers work extremely long hours, often don't get enough sleep, may not have a diet that is low in saturated fats and could drink too much alcohol or caffeine. There's a price to pay - and that price can sometimes be their health.'[LNB] Dr Dugmore, president and founder of the Wellness International Centre, encourages managers to look at factors such as cholesterol and blood sugars to help prevent health problems. [LNB]'An ounce of prevention is worth a tonne of treatment,' he said. [LNB]But it's not just the managers; it's the fans, too. [LNB]Dr Dugmore said a study in February 2008 in the New England Journal of Medicine looked at the 2006 World Cup in Germany and found more than 100 'cardiac events' occurred during the host's 1-0 win against Poland. [LNB]The pattern was repeated in the quarter-final against Italy.[LNB] [LNB] Stressed out: Allardyce (left) and Hughes (right) need the craving of management but it is a deadly fix[LNB]Former Bolton Wanderers boss Sam Allardyce's heart-rate quadrupled during a match, a 2001 study found.[LNB] Allardyce's resting heart-rate was 46 beats per minutes (bpm), but rose to a 162bpm during a 2-2 draw against Leicester City.[LNB] This far out-stripped even the manager's heart-rate when running on a treadmill, which was 146bpm. Before the match, [LNB]Allardyce's heart-rate rose to 90bpm and then 95bpm when Bolton had a player sent off after 18 minutes.[LNB] It climbed another three bpm when a second player saw red and reached 155pm when Allardyce's side scored a stoppage-time equaliser. [LNB] [LNB]MANAGER'S VIEW: MARK HUGHES (Fulham) Football is a drug and when you've had a taste of it, it's a craving that needs to be satisfied. People have to understand what this game does to you. [LNB]This is what we've done for 20 or 30 years or more. [LNB]When I was sacked at Manchester City I was out of football for the first time since I started my career.[LNB] It was OK for a month, but then you crave to get back in because football is what you do, that's what you know, you love to be part of it. [LNB]It's hard to take a step back when you've experienced what this game has to offer.[LNB] It's hard to replicate in terms of emotion and stimulus. That's why we keep coming back.[LNB]MEDICAL VIEW: MARK LEATHER (ex-Liverpool physio) Being a manager is stressful and incidents like the one involving Gerard Houllier are down to all the shouting on the touchline, previous medical history, age group and fitness - and the position that your football club is in. [LNB]People only see managers on a match day but the hours they work are incredible. [LNB]They're endlessly travelling the country, have to be guarded at press conferences and have tough discussions with players' agents. It adds up to a very stressful lifestyle.[LNB] For some it's a drip, drip effect with many 'minor' traumas before the straw that breaks the camel's back.[LNB] Houllier's Aston Villa job in doubt as illness returns to put Frenchman in hospital Pressure point: Is Houllier a victim of extra stress on bosses?All the latest Aston Villa FC news, features and opinion[LNB] [LNB] [LNB] Explore more:People: Sam Allardyce, Gerard Houllier Places: Liverpool, Poland, Germany, Italy, Europe
