Billy Kenny says Everton failed to support him as he reflects on addiction and recovery

Former Everton midfielder Billy Kenny has criticised the support he received during his playing career, telling the Guardian that the club failed to protect him as a teenager whose football career was cut short by addiction. In an interview published on Tuesday, the 53-year-old acknowledged responsibility for his own actions while describing lasting anger over how he believes he was treated.

Kenny said he had not initially enjoyed drinking but felt pressure to join in after reaching Everton's first team under Howard Kendall. He recalled attending pub gatherings with senior players and said he came to believe drinking was expected of him. His account presents those experiences as an important part of his subsequent difficulties, rather than a culture he had sought out before becoming a first-team player.

The midfielder's emergence included a man-of-the-match performance against Liverpool at Goodison Park in December 1992. He represented England's under-21 side in March 1993, but his professional career was over by the age of 21. The Guardian reported that he made 23 appearances for Everton and four for Oldham, with addiction interrupting the progress of a player who had attracted interest from Manchester United and Liverpool as a youngster.

Kenny said Everton sent him for treatment at the Priory in Cheshire, where he spent two months. He described struggling to relate to the older people in group therapy, while recalling daily visits from Colin Harvey and Paul Power to work on his fitness. Despite that intervention, he said he lacked the guidance and emotional support he needed when his Everton career ended in 1994.

Reflecting on his life since football, Kenny told the Guardian he had stayed away from alcohol and drugs since his mother's death 15 years ago. He said he still experienced depression, but described managing difficult periods without returning to drinking or drug use. He now has several good days each week, he said, contrasting that with the prolonged distress he experienced during earlier years.

The interview comes before the publication of his book, The Goodison Gazza, written with the Guardian's Jamie Fahey and due out through Reach on 8 October. Kenny said his feelings about Everton remain complicated: he continues to identify with supporters and welcomes the team's success, despite his criticism of the club's handling of his career.