Former Crystal Palace midfielder Darren Ambrose is one of the club's most iconic figures of recent years. In his regular matchday programme column at the start of Mental Health Awareness Week, he chose to take a break from recalling the highs of a goal-filled career, and instead opened up on football's tougher sides.
The only thing I wanted as a kid was to become a professional footballer. No one could tell me otherwise. Today, my nine-year-old son is part of Ipswich Town’s Academy and, after 15-years in the game, I can see all the difficulty ahead of him that I didn’t realise at his age.