Ex-Newcastle United defender Jonathan Woodgate has opened up on the tragic passing of Magpies legend and former teammate Gary Speed.
Speed, who made 285 appearances for Newcastle during his seven season spell, tragically took his own life in November 2011, sending shockwaves throughout the football community.
Woodgate and Speed were teammates at Newcastle between January 2003 and July 2004 but both came through the academy at Leeds United.
Revered by those who knew him best, Speed was beloved on Tyneside. His best seasons at Newcastle came during the years the Magpies were pushing for regular European football as well as challenging at the top end of the Premier League table.
And in a recent interview on the Original Penguin x CALM Under The Surface podcast, Woodgate admitted to being shocked and devastated by the news of his former team mates passing.
"Gary was an incredible person, he’d do anything for you," said Woodgate.
"He’d pick up the phone and ring you out of the blue. I used to keep in contact with him on the phone, and then for that to happen, and it was out of nowhere.
"I was devastated. I think Newcastle were playing that day and I was watching Shay Given and Craig Bellamy both crying, and it was a real sad time.
"He was really close with Shay Given, Alan Shearer and Steve Harper so you might have thought he would have opened up to them, but we’ll never know why he did it, what he was going through – that’s the biggest thing – what was he going through to make him do that. No one ever knew, so tragic."
Alongside the conversation about Speed, Woodgate also opened up about his own mental health struggles. The former England international had his career plagued by injuries which left a lasting mark on the former Magpie who many hailed as one of the finest defender's of his generation.
"I think when I was playing if I was a 19 year old kid and went to see the manager to say I’m really struggling mentally, I think he’d just look at and think I was soft," explained Woodgate.
"But now it’s a different ball-game – if I had a young player come to me and say they’ve got problems, it would be serious, you’d contact all the people at the club with experience and make it known to them.
"I’d always have a quiet word with players to ask if everything was okay, about life, home and things like that because if a player loses form what is it down to?
"Are they not training right, or is it mentally and something has happened, split up with a girlfriend, has a relative passed away because you don’t always know what is going through a player’s mind so it’s important that you speak to your players and check how they are.
"I didn’t hear mental health spoken about until three years ago. With players it was you were either feeling sad or happy, but now it’s big. I always say to my players, my door is always open. Anything you need or want from me as a manger – come and see me.
"Whether it’s football related or personal and home life stuff, come and see me, I’ve got experience in different things and you can talk to me, I’m not going to judge but always try and help you."
Woodgate was speaking on the Original Penguin X Campaign Against Living Miserably Under The Surface podcast
