davieG Posted 9 March 2012 Posted 9 March 2012 Merc Everyone at Leicester City has a big part to play in the vital run-in but, when the games are coming thick and fast, as they are now, the medical staff come into their own. City are in the middle of a run of nine games in 28 days, and that makes masseurs like Paul Evans a very busy man. The former Shrewsbury Town, Brentford, Bradford City, Nottingham Forest and Swindon Town midfielder, who won two caps for Wales, didn't really think about life after his football career and admits that, during his playing days, masseurs were not exactly common place. But, as the game has advanced, so has the medical care players receive and 37-year-old Evans, who trained as a masseur at Notts County, is loving his new career with City. "I was coming near to the end of my career and I have a friend who is a well-respected physio who works with athletes and disabled athletes," said Evans. "He gave me a few books and asked what I was doing after football, so I read about it and went on a course for about eight months or so and it all progressed from there. "I had never thought about what I was going to do until towards the end of my career but then, at the end when I moved from Forest to Swindon, I started to pick the brains of the physios and when I read a few books and went on the courses I found it very interesting. "It is becoming more and more part of the backroom staff these days. It also kept me involved in football. "We didn't use masseurs much during my career, until I went to Forest and then I used them every day. "It has been busy since I joined the club. There are two ladies, Fiona and Jules as well, they are here all week and for home games on match days. It is busy. The boys do like getting a massage, some more than others." For Evans, who admits he has never known life outside of football, moving into the backroom staff when he finished playing three years ago has allowed him to stay in the game he loves. "It is nice to be involved and it is a good place to work," he says. "I came during pre-season from Derby County and it has been eventful but that is football. There are no surprises these days, you just take it as you find it. "It is good to see it from the other side. When you play you just come in, do the work and then go home, but now you are involved more in the preparation and anything you can do to help the players. They are the most important people and do the business on a Saturday. "I want to keep progressing, keep learning and see where it takes me. "I have enjoyed my three years as a masseur so far and it is great that I am still involved in the football environment because that is all I have known since I left school. "I am working with good people here and they give me good advice. I can pick their brains. The physio department is moving on now and becoming even more important."
Trav Le Bleu Posted 9 March 2012 Posted 9 March 2012 Merc "I came during pre-season" I can guess which direction this thread is going to take...
HEGGSY Posted 9 March 2012 Posted 9 March 2012 I can guess which direction this thread is going to take... Its started already.
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.