Somewhere on a quiet football pitch in Knutsford, Cheshire, it's a frosty December morning and Danny Simpson is training with the cold biting at his fingers. The weather might be bleak but training prevents Simpson from slipping into a darker place.
"It’s difficult to keep going, it’s easier when you have a teammate or an ex-teammate with you," Simpson told the Manchester Evening News . " I’ve got all this free time and sometimes I think I could just go to the pub, but my little girl keeps me going."
Simpson's daughter, Skye, and his mental resilience keep him going on the difficult days when he wonders whether he will return to football. He's now 35 and without a club, not retired, after leaving Championship side Bristol City earlier this year.
