NEIL Lennon hopes more help can be provided to help footballers deal with depression after experiencing the illness himself.

The Wanderers boss is backing a new drive north of the border by the Scottish PFA who have launched a short film entitled Mind Games – Mental Health in Scottish Football, aimed at highlighting an issue that affects many players but is still considered a taboo subject.

The recent suicide attempt by former Burnley defender Clarke Carlisle has seen the subject of depression in the public eye again and Lennon believes more needs to be done to help those suffering.

The Northern Irishman first revealed his own battle with the illness in his 2006 autobiography Neil Lennon – Man and Bhoy.

And he has been revisiting those dark days – which he first experienced at Leicester and then as a player at Celtic – as part of the Scottish PFA film.

Lennon said: "You become the opposite of what you are; the most gregarious character becomes introverted with low self-esteem and confidence.

“It’s difficult to relate that to people in a footballing environment.

“I spoke to the club doctor on many an occasion and sports psychologists, who were a great help, because they understood what I was going through.

“There’s no love or enjoyment. It became difficult to put on your boots.

“Everything that comes naturally or that you enjoy becomes the opposite. You don’t enjoy your food, you can’t sleep, you don’t enjoy training or playing.

“I’ve had experience of playing an Old Firm derby and winning 2-0 but not being able to remember a thing.

"Everyone else was in the dressing room and euphoric and I was just sitting there and couldn’t wait to get away."

High-profile cases like Carlisle's bring it into focus more but there have been other footballers not so fortunate.

Former Wanderers midfielder Gary Speed suffered in silence as he battled with the illness before tragically taking his own life in November 2011.

Two years earlier German international goalkeeper Robert Enke committed suicide after his own long battle at just 32 years old.

Lennon admits before he suffered depression, he did not fully understand the effects it could have.

And he believes the more people talk openly about it in football, and sport as a whole, the more help will be on offer to sufferers when they need it most – particularly with younger players who he passes on his experiences with.

The Whites boss said: "I have, on a number of occasions, spoken openly about it, which helps them [young players].

"I’ve also been able to get the right help for them, which gets them through the process and gives them a better understanding of what they are going through.

“I notice Nick Clegg was trying to bring through legislation to offer more help to sportspeople who suffer from mental health problems, and that’s fantastic. Again, the stigma becomes less and less.

“I remember Stan Collymore coming out, maybe the first to do it, and everyone scoffing at it – including myself – until I had been through it and I could understand what Stan had been through.

“Funnily enough it attacks stronger-minded people and if you look back through history the likes of Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln all suffered from it as well.

“While we all feel ashamed of it, you shouldn’t be because it can strike you at any time.

“The most important thing is that you can get better from it, and feel so much better and stronger for it.”