Ross McCormack has opened up on his version of events of the incident dubbed ‘Gategate’ during his spell at Aston Villa – an incident which he is of the belief, in one way or another, sparked the premature end of his playing career. McCormack signed a four-year deal with Villa when joining from Fulham in 2016 but only scored three goals before his time at the club was all but ended within six months of arrival.
After a 2-2 draw with Preston North End at Villa Park in January 2017, then manager Steve Bruce was asked about McCormack’s omission from the squad that day, and Bruce claimed that McCormack had been left out after missing training in the week because the gates at the house where he was staying wouldn’t open. McCormack, that same month, was shipped off on loan at Nottingham Forest, the first of four loan spells away from the club.
McCormack has now reflected, almost eight years on, on those weeks in which he initially featured under Bruce, who had replaced Roberto Di Matteo early into that season, but quickly fell out of favour and was then the subject of public criticism from his manager for something he felt was out of his control.
Alright, actually, I started his first game in charge,” McCormack told the Open Goal channel of the fresh beginnings under Bruce initially. “It was against Wolves, I played 60-65 minutes, drew one each, I played [Jack] Grealish through and he won the penalty. It was alright. I think he’d actually tried to sign me before, maybe, when he was at Birmingham and somewhere else.
“I was renting Joe Bennett’s house because the apartment I’d bought wasn’t ready to move into yet. Everyday, when I drove up, I had to get out of the car and manually open these big, iron gates. It’s not four foot tall, it’s about six and a half, seven foot tall. One morning I woke up to manually open it, and it just wouldn’t move.
If you have a problem you ring the club doctor. So I’ve rung up and said: ‘Doc, I’ve got a problem, my gate won’t open. I’m ringing a company who’ll come out to open it, so I can drive and get to training.’ He said no problem. It got to about 10:25 and we’re training at half ten and I thought I need to phone the gaffer. I was going to say ‘gaffer it’s Rossco, I’m still waiting on that company coming’, but I didn’t get a chance to. He flew off.
That was it, it was done from there. I never spoke to him again. That was me done at Villa, I went to Nottingham Forest a few weeks after that. It could’ve been easily fixed. That’s the one regret I have in my football career, because that has, in a sense, finished my career – not when I wanted it to, but something else has decided it.
“We could’ve got past that. That was a Monday or a Tuesday and we played Preston on the Saturday. We’re 2-0 up and conceded twice. The first question in the presser after the game was ‘McCormack wasn’t in the squad, why?’ I think he’s maybe tried to take the heat off the team and put it onto me. If not for that, he might’ve fined me a week’s wages and forgotten about it.
I couldn’t get another club after it. They obviously thought ‘bad egg’, but I was captain of Leeds and Fulham, you don’t get that if you’re a bad egg. It’s why I don’t really talk about [my time at] Aston Villa.”
McCormack also revealed how he was diagnosed with depression during his time at Villa; while juggling being away from his children and going through a divorce, as well as struggling in the football sphere as he sought to cope with what was unfolding in his personal life, the Scot admitted he struggled to even leave the house while in the West Midlands. McCormack is of the opinion football clubs can do more to raise awareness and look after players who are struggling to cope.
I wouldn’t leave the house in Birmingham unless I could get drunk. It was just bad. I was going through a divorce, a lot of things happened – I was diagnosed with depression,” he revealed. “There was something new everyday in the press about me, about my gate, about the owner tweeting to his followers saying ‘we know Ross is struggling, it’s time to be a man and stand up’. All sorts.
In my head I’m thinking the Aston Villa fans hate me, so I’m not going out unless I can forget about all that. I got on with Jack and a few other people, but that’s why I never talk about Aston Villa. It was only at Aston Villa [where I felt like that]. I hear a lot of people talking about brain fog, and I get it because you can’t focus if your head’s not right.
“I still feel there’s more clubs can do for especially younger players, but players in general. I didn’t want to train, but it didn’t mean I didn’t go into training. I’ve only really felt better from about a year and a half ago. I think there’s plenty more clubs can do. The PFA, when I was at Aston Villa, sent me to a psychiatrist but after that I didn’t have any more contact with them.”
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