SLOUGH Town boss Scott Davies is relishing his role as a ‘father figure’ as he vows to prevent his players suffering from the same gambling addiction which plagued him for much of his playing career.
The former Reading, Wycombe Wanderers and Aldershot midfielder spent years fighting his demons, costing him hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Alongside his first management role at Arbour Park, the 34-year-old also works with EPIC Risk Management to improve education around problem gambling and, speaking at the launch of its Gambling Harm Prevention in Sport Review White Paper, emphasised the importance he is placing on helping his players as people now he is in the dugout.
“For me it’s about not just managing them as players, but managing them through life,” said Davios, whose side currently sit 18th in National League South.
“I am almost like a second father figure for some of these lads, especially the younger ones – we have got lads that are 18, 19 – Iam 35 next month. I don’t just want them to be good footballers, I want them to be good people.
“Being a manager now, if I do see a problem with one of my players I will go and speak to them and ask the question rather than brush it under the carpet. You might be wrong, they might be completely fine, but at least you have asked.
“People don’t go to your teammates and say ‘I’m struggling, can I have a chat?’. It’s just not the done thing in football. It is that stigma attached to men not willing to speak, but I try and normalise it now as much as I can.
“My players would say that I am a person that delves deeper into the person because of what I have been through in my life.
“I am very lucky that I have the opportunity and I want to be more than just a good football manager, I want to be a good person to these players.”
Education
Davies is a member of EPIC Risk Management’s Pro Sport Advisory Board, which has been launched as the world’s first panel to investigate and act upon the risk of gambling harm affecting professional sports stars or eSports players.
EPIC’s new White Paper advocates a greater emphasis on education at all levels of sport, including a commitment to education amongst those engaging with gambling operators as sponsors.
Education is exactly the message Davies is pining for after his gambling led to a rapid slide down the pyramid since breaking through into the Reading first team.
Lies to managers, friends and family around the thousands of pounds he was gambling soon saw Davies hit rock bottom and enter rehab, before he turned the corner and focused on educating others about the risks. “I think through the power of talking and sharing my vulnerability around my gambling addiction, it allows people to come forward and ask for help which is a good thing,” he added.
“It is a dirty word, people think it’s a selfish addiction and that it’s greedy or you’re from a broken home. It doesn’t discriminate. I believe that education and talking about lived experiences is a way to change that.
“There just wasn’t help out there. No one was going to the manager saying I am struggling, it just wasn’t spoken about. The more people talk about it, it makes it normal.
“The overwhelming sense of relief when you do talk about it is the best thing in the world.”
Gambling Harm Prevention in Sport Summit, presented by EPIC Risk Management and UCFB’s Global Institute of Sport (GIS).
