Christmas is for football! With a packed festive fixture calendar, Christmas is always a busy time both on and off the pitch for footballers, coaches and staff!
HQ magazine went to find out what it is like to be a footballer at Christmas!
David Gray
“The Gray household is full of excitement on Christmas Day. We have three young kids, who all love it – especially my son who loves eating chocolate. My wife gets quite stressed quite quickly about the mess in the house in the morning!
“When I was younger, Christmas was just another day because I was always just focused on football. Since I have had kids, it has changed slightly because you want to make sure they have a special day and you appreciate your family even more around that time of year. Christmas Day is always about family time for us.
“The actual period of games is always really exciting and brilliant to be a part of.
“There have been many different ways of doing Christmas as a footballer. I have trained in the morning on Christmas Day and then you spend the rest of your day with your family and then play the next day.
“I always felt that when you train on Christmas Day you are almost doing it just to try and tick a box. You don’t do the same number of meetings; you don’t do the same level of intensity because you have the game the next day. So, we’ve given the players the day off on Christmas Day to spend with their families and then report at night at the team hotel. It is good to bring everyone together, so you know everyone is there and you can have a team meeting before going to bed. That way, you have eyes on all the players and you know everyone is in the right headspace going into such a big game.
“My favourite part of Christmas Dinner? Pigs in blankets!”
Joe Newell
“We’re five hours away from home – so this year it’ll just be me and my wife, Hannah, on Christmas Day. So we will have our breakfast, open presents, chill out and take the dog for a walk. We will then head to the Stadium to help out with the Hibernian Community Foundation Christmas lunch service.
“After that we are back at home and cook our dinner, unfortunately, I will only have a small part of it because I am very superstitious the day before a game – especially before an Edinburgh Derby. I will then have my normal pre-match meal which is usually Spaghetti Bolognese or Turkey Bolognese before we go to the hotel at night.
“Christmas is amazing and I love it, but as a footballer – you don’t get the best out of it!
“Favourite part of Christmas Dinner? Roast potatoes. There is an argument for pigs and blankets, I love stuffing too – but if your roast potatoes are bad then that is your whole dinner ruined.”
Ellis Notley
“Our schedule is a little bit different to the Men’s Team and we are fortunate enough that we get a bit off time off the training pitch to enjoy Christmas!
“We don’t have any fixtures over the festive period, so our last game is just before Christmas then our next game isn’t until early January. So for me, it is about spending time with my family and seeing friends.
“We do have to keep on top of our fitness, with our own remote training plans but it is a lot more chilled than a normal training week.
“Christmas Day for me will be a nice, chilled morning with my family, we will have a big breakfast, open presents and all that kind of stuff. Last year, I went to help out with the Community Foundation at Easter Road with their lunch service, so I am going to do that again this year! After that, it is back home for the best part of the day – Christmas Dinner, and I will probably play board games with my brothers and argue with them!
“My favourite part of Christmas Dinner? It is a close call between pigs in blankets and roast potatoes… as long as they are covered in gravy – that is the main event!”
This is one of several Christmas-themed features in the new edition of HQ Magazine!
You can purchase the 11th edition of the magazine either online or from the new Hibernian FC Ticket Office for just £5!
