Craig MacGillivray and his partner recently welcomed a baby girl into the world and the Scottish stopper has opened up about balancing football and fatherhood.
“I don’t even know how many nappies, how many bottles I’ve made,” MacGillivray told CharltonTV. “It’s a life-changing event. She’s very, very cute and there’s nothing better when you go home from training… it just puts an instant smile on your face.
“I don’t think anyone can ever explain what it feels like. I think you can try but until you actually get your little one in your hands and you can see her every single day in the flesh, I don’t think it will ever be something you can explain.
“The emotions of it all are beyond what I ever thought they would be,” the 29-year-old added.
“I think the first week or so it takes you by surprise because everyone says you don’t get much sleep and obviously they are completely oblivious to what’s going on.”
“It’s not like it was in the first week and obviously before games my missus is very considerate and I take myself off to the spare room, get a full night’s sleep and then I’m ready for a game and she’ll sort of do the majority of it on her own.
“During the week obviously, now she’s in a good routine, I’ll do as much as I possibly can. I’ve got to bear in mind with my football that it’s a very physically demanding job so you have to make sure you get your sleep and that you’re ready to do the best you can when it comes to training and games.
“But at the same time, it’s not fair on my other half to leave her to do everything as well and ultimately, as a dad, I want to do that to help both of them as much as I can as well. It’s about trying to get that balance which is what I think I’m doing.”
Article by Yannick Stay