Tributes paid to Ray Wilkins

Former Sunderland managers Terry Butcher and Howard Wilkinson have paid tribute to former England captain Ray Wilkins, who died yesterday, at the age of 61.

Butcher, who played alongside Wilkins for Rangers and England, said: “There are so many memories of him and with England in World Cups in ’82 and ’86.

“Just so many memories and it has been such a pleasure to have known him and be a friend and a colleague.

“I think that’s the best thing for me; I knew Ray Wilkins is what I will say to my grandchildren and other people. I knew what he was like and he was the real deal.”

Butcher added: “He always worked hard on the training field, he was one of the last to come off.

“Obviously he wanted to be the very best and for me he was the very best.”

Wilkinson, the League Managers Association chairman, said: “Ray lived and breathed football his whole career.

“As a player, he was a leader on the pitch and he instilled his beliefs and values into his coaching, helping a vast number of players understand what it meant to win games of football at the highest level.”

Wilkins, who won 84 England caps, had been treated in St George’s Hospital in Tooting, since Friday following a cardiac arrest. Wilkins won the FA Cup with Manchester United in 1983, memorably curling home a brilliant goal in the original 2-2 draw at Wembley. He also won the Scottish title with Rangers in 1989. He started his career at Chelsea in the 1970s and later played, among others, for AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, QPR and Hibs. He managed QPR, Fulham and the Jordan national team.

Wilkinson added: “Ray has been a stalwart of the LMA for many years. His energy and love of the game were his biggest strengths.

“As well as being a manager in his own right, he became one of the most supportive and trusted assistant managers in the Premier League, providing a sounding board to many managers in the past 20 years and achieving great successes with his boyhood club, Chelsea.

“Many things come to mind when I think of Ray but, above all, no matter what the circumstances he remained a true gentleman.”