Dunfermline boss James McPake has repeated calls for a wider conversation on head injuries after being left ‘uncomfortable’ watching the after-effects of Chris Hamilton’s recent concussion.
Hamilton had to be substituted early in the 3-2 victory over Arbroath at Gayfield on March 30 after hitting his head on the ground following a heavy fall.
The 22-year-old subsequently missed the clashes with Partick Thistle and Airdrie as he made his comeback.
Players recovering from concussion have to pass simple brain function tests before being allowed to slowly step up their training load.
But, away from the pitch, McPake has revealed Hamilton struggled to cope with crowded rooms and noisy situations.
The experience has only strengthened the Pars manager’s belief that more needs to be done to ensure the safety of footballers suffering head knocks.
“It’s great to see Hammy training and playing again,” said McPake following Hamilton’s return to action in Saturday’s goalless draw with Queen’s Park.
“And, also, speaking and not being uncomfortable in certain situations – like a busy dressing room or busy places.
“That’s the first time I’ve seen [someone experience] that. It wasn’t nice to watch.
McPake: ‘Pars would never take a chance’
“And it’s just another reason to stress just how important head injuries are and the management of them.
“We would never take a chance on a player but that’s genuinely the first time I’ve seen it affect someone as badly as that.
“He would be okay one minute – and then he would get uptight and think everyone was looking at him.
“It was weird and pretty uncomfortable to see.
“At the same time, he was wanting to train and wanting to play.
“But we were judging it and thinking, ‘he can hardly hold a conversation the way he normally would’.”
McPake has had experience of managing players with concussions, with defender Sam Fisher also sustaining two in quick succession earlier in the season.
As per the ‘if in doubt, sit them out’ campaign, returning to football should be ‘graduated’. But there is no minimum lay-off and it is only based on players being ‘symptom free’.
McPake added “Chris would pass all the tests and all that.
“Then, the dressing room would start to get busy, the music would go on and people would be talking – and he didn’t feel comfortable.
‘You need to be careful’
“When you see that, you realise you need to be careful with players in that situation.
“It was worrying watching it.
“It certainly needs more attention. There needs to be a more broad conversation across the game on this issue.
“You can win games of football, you can win league titles, you can win cups. But it’s all irrelevant if you’ve not got your health.
“More needs to be done, we can’t be taking chances. We need to be better. It’s something that needs to be addressed and people need to buy into it.”
