“The toughest year of my life, of our lives”.
Former Celtic and Middlesbrough manager Tony Mowbray has been speaking bravely with the BBC about his experience with bowel cancer.
The 60-year-old received the bad news while managing Birmingham City in the Championship less than a year ago, and previously impressed in his role as Sunderland manager in 2023.
Now, however, his life is much changed and he documented his battle while commentating on today’s Middlesbrough victory over Luton Town.
“Out of the blue my illness was diagnosed, you know, I probably was still Sunderland manager this time a year ago,” he told BBC Sport.
“I had a doctor’s appointment through the league management association to go to Manchester and have a checkover.
“You get one every year, sort of a full body MOT really, everything – your hearing, your eyesight, everything.
“I went along and out of the blue, part of it was having a colonoscopy because I’ve mentioned that I’d had some issues, my toilet […] so they had a look and I got diagnosed with bowel cancer, out of nowhere really. And it’s quite shattering.”
Mowbray had just become Birmingham manager and was enjoying a positive start to life when he received the life-altering news.
When he speaks about stepping away from that job, it is blatantly clear how much love and passion he had for the project, despite how recently he had joined the club.
“I had to go to the football club. I was just newly employed. I’d only been manager. I think when I left, I’d had eight games, won four, drew two, lost two, and we were doing pretty well.”
“The place was bouncing, the stadium was full, and, and I was really looking forward to having a great time there.
“Unfortunately, ten days later, I was in a hospital bed in Manchester having a ten hour operation, and my life changed really.
Although Mowbray was distraught to step away, naturally, it was the impact of the illness on his family which affected him the most.
“But, mainly it’s about when you get an illness like I got, it’s about the family really,” he explained.
“I remember sitting in a hospital bed in Manchester and my kids had tears in their eyes not sure whether I was gonna get through it or not.
“To be honest. I was very very ill.
“I did come home from that, and the period is very up and down.
“Some days you were feeling great, and other days I would collapse and black out and find myself on the kitchen floor.”
Now on the mend, Mowbray has his sights set on making an impressive return to football management once the time is right.
“I don’t wanna go too much into things other than…I still have issues.
“I’m still, at this moment, not 100% ready for work. I am thinking in my mind, hopefully, another couple of months, and my body will settle down after a recent operation that I had.
“I do wanna go back to work. Football’s in my blood. It’s what I do.
“I want to get involved with a group of young men and try and talk to them about life and football and what it takes to be a winner.”
“To try and inspire them with some of the stories I tell about life […] that’s what I wanna do.
“Somewhere down the line. [I’m] not quite ready. My body’s telling me I’m not ready yet.”
We wish Tony a continued recovery and hope to see him back in football whenever the time is right.
