‘I was thinking about quitting’ – St Patrick’s Athletic defender Luke Turner on his mental-health battle

The Dubliner left Shamrock Rovers to sign for the Scottish outfit at the age of 16 but admits he came extremely close leaving the club on one or two occasions due to severe homesickness.

While the 21-year-old admits he struggled at times, Turner insists he wouldn’t change a thing and feels his time at Pittodrie stood to him before arriving in Inchicore in January, following an impressive spell at Cliftonville.

The centre-half feels it’s important that mental health continues to be spoken about across the game.

“I loved it but at the same time I struggled. I was very homesick and once or twice I was maybe a 10-minute conversation (away) with the coach about coming home just because I struggled that much,” said Turner, ahead of the Saints’ Premier Division clash at home to Shelbourne tonight (7.45).

“It gradually came on over the space of maybe six to 12 months. I think it’s not talked about enough, mental health.

“I think it’s massive, because you’re going to training in the morning and with the lads which is fine, but once you get home you are in digs at 3.0-4.0pm and might be sitting in your room until 10.0-11.0pm.

“You try to take your mind off being away. You’d have friends who are going out, you miss the Debs and a lot of school stuff but it’s worth it at the end of the day.

“It’s just about keeping your mind ticking over. If you can keep mentally strong off the pitch it definitely helps on the pitch.

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“I was probably a bit naive and didn’t speak to anybody and it made me struggle more. It’s good to talk to people, even talking about anything. It helps to let off steam, to say ‘I had a bad day’, or ‘I’m struggling a bit’.

“Fans are on about people (footballers) not trying and stuff like that, but sometimes it’s a bit deeper and players can be struggling off the pitch. That’s why we need to keep talking about mental health.

“I struggled but I wouldn’t not go if I had the chance again, because I think, mentally, it made me much stronger in terms of senior football. Scottish football is very physical, so it definitely helped me get ready for senior level, mental-wise and in working through setbacks, so it was good.”

After loan spells at Scottish fifth-tier side Turriff United and Wexford FC, Turner departed Aberdeen and signed a permanent deal with Cliftonville in July 2022 after enjoying a stellar loan spell in Belfast, winning the league and club’s Young Player of the Year awards.

But he reveals he was close to quitting the game altogether before arriving at Solitude.

“I think the (Irish) Premiership is a great league to go and get senior games. It helped me in every way, because I was thinking about quitting football before I went there,” said Turner.

“I just got to a stage where I was like, ‘right, this isn’t going to be my life until I’m 35. I’m going to have to get a job here’. But when I went to Cliftonville, it completely changed in the space of a month. That’s what football does, it changes so quickly.”

After playing every minute of the Saints’ league campaign to date, up next for Turner is a clash with league leaders Shelbourne tonight which also brings a reunion with his former manager Damien Duff, who he played under for Shamrock Rovers U-15s.

“He brought us in at 6.0am on a Wednesday to train, it was brilliant,” added Turner when asked about his time under Duff. “Damien was obviously a technically gifted player so he wanted us to be technically good on the ball. He has kind of brought that in with Shels. They have a mix of being able to go direct but also able to play football. It will be nice to see him.”