HE has endured his own personal health scare.

The experience has left him with the gratitude of the survivor but also with a mission to ensure that all health safeguards are to footballers.

Alan Stubbs, now 40, survived testicular cancer that was diagnosed 13 years ago when he was playing for Celtic. The experience was brought back to life by the news that Bolton Wanderers' Fabrice Muamba remains critically ill in hospital after collapsing during Saturday's FA Cup tie at White Hart Lane.

Stubbs, a former Bolton defender who now coaches at Everton, insists clubs are stringent and exhaustive in testing the fitness of their players. But he believes the football authorities could extend this screening to children.

He called on the SFA, SPL and the governing bodies in England to fund a programme that could pick up heart defects in children. "It may stop this in the future," he said in reference to the collapse of the 23-year-old player. Stubbs pointed out that there had been tragedies in football before, pointing to the death of Phil O'Donnell, the Motherwell captain, in December 2007.

Stubbs, though, is aware that the seemingly sudden, random nature of heart defects can make them difficult to spot.

"Everyone thinks they [footballers] are invincible because they are so fit," he said. "It just goes to show that it can happen to anyone, anywhere any time.

"Players could not be checked any more, they have the best treatment. Every club puts every player goes through cardio tests every season."

Stubbs knows that Muamba will be given every support by the football community.

"I have gone through a similar thing, a health thing," he said. "Football was and always will be secondary. His family will be going through hell at the moment.

"When I was at Bolton it was a family club. It is still the same. It is at a different level from the point of view of finances and the stadium. But it still has the same feeling in the background.

"It has the same people there when I was there. It is a fantastic club and they will look after him and his family but, to be fair, most clubs are like that."

Stubbs will never forget witnessing the scenes at White Hart Lane as he watched on television.

"You only had to look at the faces of fans and players to see how serious it was. The Tottenham fans were very respectful and they deserve full credit for that," he said.

Stubbs knows the severity of the situation as Muamba remains critically ill in the London Chest Hospital in Bethnal Green.

"It is not about him coming back to play football. It is about him coming through as a person," he said.