DEREK Christie knew Neale Cooper long before the Scot set foot in Hartlepool. Radio reporter Christie was in the North-East when Cooper arrived in 2003 and their paths had crossed before.

Here he pens his thoughts and pays tribute to one of football's good guys, who passed away on Monday afternoon.

I FIRST got to know Neale as a young and probably too cocky reporter for Moray Firth Radio. He could see right through me and that I was really a quivering wreck.

He just smiled me one of those Neale Cooper smiles that said “you can’t kid me wee man”.

I always remember interviewing him a few days before they played Rangers in the Scottish Cup. The hype and build up around the match was huge, but all I remember was the both of us having a massive laughing fit and being unable to talk for nearly 15 mins.

Typical Neale, he probably had the weight of the world on his shoulders but was never afraid to let go and have a laugh, when it was required.

Our paths crossed again when he became Hartlepool manager.

When I got an idea that he was set for the job, I knew he was going to be a success and that the Poolies would give him legendary status.

In the press on the days on the run up to his unveiling, it didn’t really mention him but when it became clear that he was getting the manager’s job, I can’t tell you how it felt. It was like finding an old picture that you hadn’t seen for years and when you found it, it gave you that wonderful warm feeling.

I’ll never forget when he walked through the door at Victoria Park and he spotted me in the front row of the press conference.

His first words “Alright Del boy”. That was “Tattie” at his finest a man who knew how to make you feel like his best friend.

When you look back through his life Neale‘s story could be an epic.

From his beginning in Darjeeling in India, to European and Domestic success with Aberdeen to his time at Aston Villa and Rangers, then onto Ross County and Hartlepool.

Neale is a legend in the eyes of so many and he will be greatly missed.

I will always remember the hugs and I even put up with him calling me Del boy, even though he knew I hated it.

I’ll miss his hugs and his shocking moods after a defeat, but most of all I’ll miss a true gentleman and a smile that filled a room, a smile that was always genuine and that always turned the worst of days into the best.

Gone too soon.

RIP Neale