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COVER STORY
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LEE HAS PUT HIS DARK DAYS
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BEHIND HIM AND IS BUILDING AN
EXCITING MEDIA CAREER WHICH HAS MADE HIM FEEL VALUED AGAIN
a number of fund-raisers for the charity including running marathons and being a key member leading and playing in the annual Copa Del Cure Leukaemia six-a-side tournament which is being held in October at St George’s Park, Tatenhill and will once again feature a host of famous Midlands football names. “I got involved with Cure Leukaemia after I bumped into a few Villa guys at a dinner, and it’s just gone from there,” said Lee. Additional motivation to support the blood cancer charity and world-class treatment centre run by Professor Charlie Craddock at Queen Elizabeth Hospital came when Villa captain Stiliyan Petrov was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2012. LIFE-SAVING “Supporting Cure Leukaemia is very important to me,” said Lee. “The charity does wonderful work in delivering life-saving treatment to thousands of people and giving them hope.” “I know how having hope and giving help to people, no matter what their illness, is so important. I don’t want to ever see anyone being in the situation I found myself in my dark period. Being a proud man and not actually wanting to tell anyone about my problems was horrendous.” We spoke to Lee as he prepared to give his expert views as part of Sky’s coverage later that evening on Villa’s crucial Championship game at Nottingham Forest – which the claret and blues won 3-1. “Villa are doing ok right now,” he said. “After a lean period they
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have really picked up. But the Championship is a tough division with some really big clubs fighting it out to get back into the Premier League next season. Big clubs should do well and the bigger club you are, the higher the expectation. It’s not easy.” While a Villa boy from the days when he was a kid in Birmingham, Lee is a big supporter of Midlands football in general. “I want to see all the clubs do well,” he said. “Regardless of who you support, top quality and successful teams here give the whole place a big lift and help showcase our success as a city and region.”
ULTRA-COMPETITIVE And he adds: “I am just delighted to be involved in the game. Sky have been magnificent for me. When you come out of football it’s difficult. You work hard to get to where you want to. And it’s the same with Sky. They have challenged me and tested me. It’s a big profile thing and being on TV means always having to work hard. It’s not a given, there are a lot of people who want to get into it, so it’s very competitive. “I’ve always been a great competitor which is why I love what I am doing and why I want to carry on with the media stuff in future. It’s a thrill to be part of it and its great to be involved in the game that I love.” I For more details of how to see Lee at the Copa Del Cure Leukaemia 2019 tournament on 22 October, go to www.copadelcl.co.uk
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