'Superhuman' managers shouldn't have to ask for help - Beard's family on loss

Matt Beard's wife Debbie and son Harry are calling for bespoke, targeted mental health support for football managers

This article contains discussion of suicide.

"A cheeky chappy - the Del Boy of football."

That is how Debbie Beard remembers her husband, the football manager Matt Beard, who died aged 47 in September.

As one of the most successful and beloved managers in the women's game, his death shook the world of football and beyond.

Tributes poured in from players he had coached, rivals his teams had faced along the way and fans who were charmed by his playful, down-to-earth persona.

Few could believe that a man who always had a smile for everybody could have taken such a heartbreaking decision.

As well as being a two-time Women's Super League winner with Liverpool, Matt was a father to son Harry, daughter Ellie, and stepson Scott.

Speaking to BBC Sport at the family home in North Wales, Debbie says she would not wish the impact of Matt's death on her worst enemy, and has urged football to introduce regular, mandatory mental health checks for managers - so that no more families have to suffer the same pain.

"It was just normal" is how Debbie describes the day Matt died, having taken the family dog for a long walk earlier.

"We would never have seen that coming - not in a million years. I just wish he had said 'I'm struggling'."

Debbie knew her husband had experienced emotional difficulties in the past - including following the death of his father in 2022 - but says he would continue to work and behave as normal.

She feels Matt's death should herald a change in the way the mental health of football managers is monitored.

Debbie believes the onus shouldn't be on managers to ask for help, given they may not prioritise their own wellbeing in a competitive environment where spare time is in very short supply.

"I want to see a change - there should be proper mental health checks for managers," Debbie says.

"It's such high-stakes pressure that they are under, it should be part of the regular monitoring.

"There should be a designated safe space that managers can go and talk to someone and offload. It should be mandatory that someone sees them, no questions asked, once a week for a check-in.

"There is so much emphasis on strength and conditioning in football, but for mental health they have to be the ones to speak up and ask for help, which I don't think is right."

The League Managers' Association (LMA) runs a variety of initiatives designed to help football managers with their mental health, including confidential counselling with consultant psychiatrists, health insurance access, and mental health education workshops.

The LMA told BBC Sport there was a "need for continued education in spotting the signs and symptoms of those who are struggling".

It added: "Football management and coaching is a profession that can often lead to stress, anxiety, burnout, and a number of other serious associated mental health conditions.

"We continue to proactively work with the game and its stakeholders to address mental health in a more unified and collaborative way."

Matt and Debbie married in 2009, having met when he became her estate agent - a job he did part-time during his early days in football coaching

Matt led Liverpool to back-to-back Women's Super League titles, in 2013 and 2014, and in his second stint with the Reds oversaw their promotion back to the WSL from the Championship in 2021.

He also managed Millwall, Chelsea and Boston Breakers in the USA, as well as West Ham, who he took to the 2019 FA Cup final.