Steven Naismith has been inspired by a letter written to him by a frontline soldier serving in Afghanistan.
Following on from all the brilliant things Everton did for Remembrance Day Naismith reminisced on events back in 2011 when he was under going rehab for a cruciate knee ligament injury. Naismith told reporters at a Helping Heroes campaign: “When I did my knee at Aberdeen, I was a couple of months into my rehab at Murray Park when a letter came through for me.
“It wasn’t in a normal envelope, it looked a bit strange at first.
“I opened it up and read through the letter. It was from a soldier out serving at the time and he said he was gutted I was injured and that he was thinking of me.
“I found it incredible that this guy’s away fighting for the country and he’s thinking about me going for a knee operation.
“They are the proper heroes. We’re bringing in entertainment value to the world and that’s it.
“But these guys have a real job, doing real stuff that makes a big difference. It’s amazing.
“I think I am better able to deal with the difficult aspects of football and things like this letter definitely play a part in that.
“For me, what that soldier’s going through puts it all into perspective, what it’s really all about.
“You can have all the fight you want for your club. But at the end of the day you still have to realise what it all means.”
The letter was written by serving soldier Mark Stott and Naismith says that after that event he has never struggled to cope with top-flight football.
Naismith is currently on international duty for Scotland, preparing for their match against the USA but took some time to attend a Helping Heroes campaign, which aims to help soldiers and war veterans back into everyday life. Steven said: “It just hit home that, especially when men like Mark are away fighting for the country, there’s not enough for them back home, enough help. I want to do my bit to help raise awareness of the situation.”
It’s great to see Everton players helping out with crucial charities like this and Naismith also promotes homeless charities in Glasgow and Liverpool. Top work Naisy.