GROWING up, young Robert Allen was raised on gripping tales of his famous uncle Danny Paton, a 1960s Hearts League Cup star and derby hat-trick hero against bitter rivals Hibs.

Later from his season ticket-holder’s spot in the maroon and white stand, he cheered on Scottish Cup runs, shared the misery of defeat and practically floated down Gorgie Road high as a kite after a derby win.

Wrapped in his Hearts scarf, surrounded by thousands of fellow fans, every possible emotion poured out.

Yet at home, he bottled up dark thoughts: he wasn’t a good enough father, husband, employee or person.

He didn’t deserve to be around.

Now, however, a remarkable project that uses a shared passion for the beautiful game to encourage men to discuss their mental health within the familiar surroundings of the club they love has changed the lives of dozens of men, including Robert.

Since being launched at city rivals Hibs in April last year and picked up by Hearts six months later, The Changing Room mental health project has seen normally tight-lipped men open up about their fears, anxieties, stresses and most distressing thoughts in ways that have even surprised its organisers.

“I know the stigma attached to mental health,” says father-of-one Robert, 38, of Bathgate. “I’m an example of it. You’re supposed to be this strong, masculine person that can cope. People in my family look up to me. I thought if I said I’m not right mentally, they might feel I’d let them down or be disappointed in me.

“But I was in a bad place,” he adds. “I was starting to have suicidal thoughts. I had become socially isolated from my friends and realised I had to try to do something to help myself.”

He saw The Changing Room mentioned on social media. Launched by club captain Christophe Berra, it called on supporters aged from 30 to 64 to join a 12-week programme. Designed to help men open up about mental health issues and increase their social connections, it would all take place behind the scenes of Tynecastle.

The stadium link clinched it for the lifelong Hearts fan.

“I thought football would be an icebreaker, a lot more laid back than some other groups,” Robert recalls. “And I can honestly say it has changed my life.”

Funded by the Movember Foundation, The Changing Room is a SAMH programme working with Scottish Professional Football League Trust (SPFL Trust), Hibernian Football Club and Big Hearts Community Trust respectively.

It came at a time when men’s mental health – and that of players and managers within the game – was increasingly under the spotlight.

According to official figures, men in Scotland are two-and-a-half times more likely to take their own life than women. Middle-aged men are among the most high-risk groups.

In football, Celtic manager Neil Lennon – who launched the Hibs project – has spoken of his personal struggles with depression, while last year former Hearts star Christian Nade told how he attempted to take his own life.

Some, tragically, succeeded. Former Queen of the South, Falkirk and Clyde player Chris Mitchell was just 27 when he took his own life in 2016, and the tenth anniversary of Motherwell player Paul McGrillen’s death was marked earlier this year.

“I was very nervous,” recalls Robert. “But at the same time, although I’m a grown man, whenever I see Hearts or go to Tynecastle I become a bit of a fan boy.

“To be able to go into the changing room and walk beside the pitch made me feel like a bit like being part of the inner workings of Tynecastle.

“That’s why this is so effective. Men love football,” he adds. “For many, the most emotional they ever have been or they will ever get is when they are following their football team, constantly dealing with the highs and lows.

“By the end of the first session, I’d told people a bit about my issues and where I was in life.

“By the second week things were spoken about that I had not even shared with my wife but I found it very easy to talk to people there.

“Some people took a few weeks to open up.

“When they did, it was emotional. I realised that just as you are looking for someone to listen to you and not be judgmental, I was doing that for someone else.

“I felt good about myself. I felt ‘I’m worth my place here’.”

In Leith, Hibs fan Neil Renton, 43, had also wrestled with disturbing thoughts.

“There were times when I’d go to bed hoping I wouldn’t wake up in the morning,” he recalls. “I went to The Changing Room thinking it would be box-ticking exercise for the club.

“It turned out to be amazing.”

Key to the project is the chance for participants to venture behind the stadium, to areas normally out of bounds to typical fans.

There, in the players’ changing rooms, the press room or at the side of the pitch, conversations about Saturday’s game almost seamlessly evolve into deeper and sometimes surprisingly personal discussions.

“When you see behind the scenes, you feel a bit like a player, you feel part of something and that makes you more open and able to talk,” adds Neil, a father of two.

“There can be people there who have never spoken about their mental health, and it can be quite emotional.

“You hear why they are, where they are in their life. It can be heartbreaking, but it’s also the first steps to their recovery.”

Today, Neil, who has gone on to volunteer with the project, keeps the names and numbers of some of those he met at the sessions on an emergency list which he keeps handy – just in case. “You never know what is going to happen,” he adds.

“The people who I have met through this have given me support to continue and go on.”

The Hibs project was the first mental health scheme in Scotland to be funded by global men’s health charity, Movember Foundation. However, it is now reaching the end of its initial two-year funding, sparking a race for cash to ensure it can continue.

Since the two clubs’ projects launched, 120 men have taken part in the 12- week courses.

The support continues at Monday drop-in sessions which alternate between the grounds, there have been one-off mental health events and the men often go on to provide mutual support via WhatsApp groups.

Former Hibs and Hearts players and staff have also been involved, in some cases joining sessions to talk openly about the stresses of the game.

Project manager Pher Nicolson of SAMH said: “Football is the key that says it’s okay to come to something mental health-related because it’s football-related as well.

“We use the power of football to start conversations about mental health. We talk about the games, the stadium and the kinds of emotions that come up, the memories. The stadium becomes like an active player – it’s as important as the guys themselves. It’s a safe haven.

“People talk openly about the diagnosis of personality or anxiety disorders, about things that have never told anyone.

“They will talk about family, relationships, breakdowns, work, life – things that affect their mental health.

“When they realise they can speak openly the stadium takes on a new role, it’s not just a football stadium, it’s the home of mental health.”

Midway through his 12-week sessions, Robert was diagnosed with kidney cancer.

He believes the positive impact the project had on his state of mind gave him the right mindset to fight the illness then go on to embrace a new, healthier way of life.

“I know that when the diagnosis of cancer came, I was in a much more positive place than I had been three months’ earlier. I honestly believe that The Changing Room had a massive impact on making sure I was able to fight.”