EXCLUSIVE: Marcus Stewart on not being able to hold a golf club, nor tie his own laces because of MND

• Marcus Stewart, 50, has spoken about his fight with motor neurone disease 
• He has revealed how those in the football community have stepped up for MND
• Stewart scored 19 goals as Ipswich finished fifth in the Premier League in 2001 

A year has passed since he announced his devastating diagnosis, but Marcus Stewart continues to be struck by how his friends in football have rallied round.

‘Everyone has stepped up,’ says the former Ipswich and Sunderland striker, who is battling motor neurone disease. ‘So many people have been in touch — old team-mates, managers.

‘I know for a fact that they are not doing it to highlight their profile because it’s a one-on-one conversation. They are not saying it in the press. It is a genuine, “I hope you are OK?”. I appreciate it.’

The latest example of an old football friend stepping up comes on the day Mail Sport speaks to Stewart. He is in the car on his way from his home in Bristol to the Elstree Studios in Borehamwood. That evening, he and his wife Louise will be in the audience to watch Sky’s A League of Their Own after an unexpected invite from one of the stars of the show.

‘Jamie Redknapp got in touch and asked if I fancied coming up for it,’ says Stewart, later mingling back stage with that episode’s A League of Their Own guest, Gareth Bale — a fellow former player with a prolific left foot.

Ex-professional footballer Marcus Stewart has been living with motor neurone disease

The ex-Ipswich and Sunderland striker says his old team-mates and managers have stepped up

Jamie Redknapp donated two tickets for his Sky show A League of their Own to auction off at the charity football match Stewart organised at Bristol Rovers’ Memorial Stadium in May

‘I played with Jamie for England Under-15s in the old Victory Shield. But it has been more than 20 years since I saw him. It’s nice to know that he is thinking of the MND community and myself at this moment, even though we are not best mates.’

Redknapp also donated two tickets for his Sky show to auction off at the charity football match Stewart organised at Bristol Rovers’ Memorial Stadium in May. Redknapp’s dad Harry attended the game itself, while his fellow A League of Their Own team captain, Jill Scott, played. 

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes also featured. Ex-Coronation Street actor Ryan Thomas — who had never even previously met Stewart — flew back from a family holiday in Portugal just to take part.

‘I try to keep my emotions in control but that game meant a lot,’ says Stewart. It raised £111,000 for the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation, the charity jointly set up by fellow MND fighter Stephen Darby, the ex-Bradford defender. And Stewart is now looking forward to his next fundraiser, a bike ride to his seven former clubs over seven days.

Organised by his uncle Peter Tubb, the first leg of the challenge will start in Sunderland on Wednesday, with a group of Stewart’s friends and supporters cycling 350 miles to Ipswich in four days, via Huddersfield. The 235-mile second leg sets off from Bristol City’s Ashton Gate on October 26 and takes in Exeter and Yeovil, before finishing back at Rovers’ home ground three days later.

Stewart, a keen cyclist, would love to take part but his condition means he has lost the grip in his left hand. ‘I can still ride a bike, but the only problem I’d have is that the back brakes are on the left side,’ he says. ‘I’d have to switch the brakes over to the other side.

‘I’ve got to be very careful. As much as I want to do it, the bike has to be set up right and I have to understand that I can’t go as crazy as I used to on a bike. I just use Zwift indoors now where I don’t have to brake.’

Another hobby Stewart has had to give up is golf. ‘Before, I could grip the club with my left hand a little bit, whereas now I can’t grip it at all,’ says the 50-year-old. ‘That has only happened in the last two or three weeks. But it’s not as if I was playing golf as regularly as I was before anyway. I’ve had a bit of time to get my head around the fact that this was going to happen one day.’

Redknapp’s dad Harry attended the game itself, while his fellow A League of Their Own team captain and former England star, Jill Scott (pictured above), played

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes also featured. Ex-Coronation Street actor Ryan Thomas flew back from a family holiday in Portugal just to take part

Stewart admits his left hand is ‘almost unusable’ now. He can no longer tie his own laces, a change from when we met in January for his first interview about his fight with MND. Since then, he has also lost more muscle in his left arm and his right hand has started to get ‘a bit crampy’.

But Stewart still considers himself fortunate with how slowly his condition has worsened. ‘MND is full of disappointments, but I’m lucky that I get my disappointments every month or two,’ he says. ‘A lot of people with MND get disappointments every day.’

Perspective came at Stewart’s last check-up in June, when his specialist was surprised he could even still walk and talk. ‘I normally have to see her every six months,’ he says. ‘That has been the case since I was diagnosed. But last time I saw her she said, “See you in 18 months”. So that’s a small win for me.’

Another source of comfort for Stewart is the WhatsApp group he is in with others battling MND. Ex-Leicester and Gloucester rugby player Ed Slater is part of it, as is former Wales footballer Jason Bowen, who announced his diagnosis in February.

‘I played against Jason loads,’ says Stewart, who scored 19 goals when newly promoted Ipswich finished fifth in the Premier League in 2001. ‘That was a shock but it’s another guy with MND we have to try to look after.

Stewart scored 19 in the famous season 20 years ago as Ipswich secured a spot in Europe

‘It’s a good WhatsApp group to be in because the majority of us are positive people. We throw information out there and the normal Friday or Saturday night banter still goes on. We want to have a laugh in circumstances that aren’t brilliant. I have made some good friends through the most awful circumstances.’

When we first met, he was reluctant to thrust himself into the limelight. But now he has embraced his role of raising awareness and supporting others. ‘I just want a quiet life — go to the pub, see my family, watch my kids play rugby — but I understand I have responsibilities,’ he adds.

‘I don’t think about what is going to happen in five years or five weeks. I just live week to week. That’s how it is for me now. It’s the next day, the next week. I just live in the moment.’

lTo sponsor the Team Stewart cycle challenge for the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation, visit justgiving.com/page/ peter-tubb-1683031420355

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