NEWCASTLE legend Alan Shearer has opened up about the death of his dad for the first time.
The 54-year-old’s father, also named Alan, passed away earlier this year following a battle with cancer.
He had been diagnosed in February having already fought and beat the cruel disease at the age of 65.
It spread to his lungs and brain, leaving him with just months to live.
Shearer has now opened up about the tragic death of his dad for the first time as he gets set to return to work on Match of the Day.
In a column for The Athletic, he wrote: “He told us exactly what he wanted and he told us that when the time came, he wanted to be at home. And he was. We were all there with him and it was very peaceful. The pain had gone.
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“On the way, there were light and dark moments. We knew what was coming and one day when I was trying to switch off for a couple of hours, I got a call from my mam, ‘Dad wants you and Karen home now. He’s ready to go.’
“In the end, he lasted for another 27 or 28 hours, but on that final evening, he talked through his life, the people he had fights with and didn’t like and plans for his own funeral. He was laughing and reminiscing. The clarity was amazing.”
Shearer, who is married to wife Lainya and has three children – Hollie, Chloe and Will, also revealed that his dad wanted the Match of the Day theme tune played at his funeral.
The ex-striker recalled: “Along with Will, my son, I’d carried his coffin into the crematorium — the hardest thing I’ve ever done — as the Match of the Day theme blared out, jaunty and loud.
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“The music was his decision too, although he pinched that idea from my mam, telling us shortly before he died that this was what he wanted.”
Mixed emotions on MOTD return
Shearer continued his broadcasting duties following the death of his dad, although he admits he “glided” through “with the blinkers on”.
He now has mixed emotions about returning to work for the new Premier League season, which kicks off tonight.
The Newcastle icon continued: “I got to the end of last season with the blinkers on. I appeared on Match of the Day a couple of times and glided through it, just as I did for my punditry work at the European Championship, but the here and now feels different.
“I’ll be in the BBC studios in Salford this weekend and I honestly can’t tell you how it will feel when that famous tune starts up, but I do know it will be tough — very tough.
“This won’t come as a total surprise to most of you, but like my dad, I’m not emotional by nature, yet at 54 years old I’m heading into my first season without him beside me, without him just there. It’s a void that can’t be filled and it still feels very raw.”
Shearer will be working with a new look team on Match of the Day, with long-time fellow pundit Ian Wright having quit the show.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
