Stant is happy to support charity (From Bury Times)

Stant is happy to support charity

9:20am Wednesday 23rd December 2009

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PHIL Stant has hailed the Football League’s choice of Help for Heroes as its official charity this season.

As a veteran of both the Falklands War and 14 Football League clubs, the former Bury player is in the perfect position to assess the partnership between the league and the charity which raises money for former members of the armed forces who were injured while serving their country.

Stant now works for the Football League as a regional monitor for its youth development programme.

And he has been appointed the first of an intended team of Football League ambassadors who will act as spokespeople for the partnership.

“War is a nasty, dirty business,” said the Boltonian.

“People who see their mates being killed have to deal with that every day of their lives.

“It is difficult to talk about it even now. Some of the sights that you see live with you forever. People don’t realise what soldiers go through in serving their country. Not just the physical side but the psychological aspect.

“The scars stay with you forever.”

Stant underlines the fact by pointing out that the British forces lost 255 men during the Falklands conflict but more than that number who served there had since committed suicide.

“I was bought out of the army and that helped me to focus on a different career,” he said.

“You get people leaving who have nothing to look forward to. I was very, very lucky.”

Stant was one of the most prolific goalscorers of his generation in the lower divisions, scoring 27 goals in 74 appearances at Gigg Lane.

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