"I needed a lot of help. It was a process for me to adjust to another life, because all I knew was football, and performing, and being on that stage. The fall is quite high."
Claus Lundekvam is reflecting on the way his life unravelled after he was forced to retire from playing in March 2008 because of a persistent ankle injury. An addiction to alcohol and cocaine soon consumed him.
Lundekvam was 35 and a model professional who had served Southampton with distinction throughout his long spell at the club. He made more than 400 appearances after arriving from SK Bergen in 1996 and was embraced by supporters as one of their own.