Heartbroken Ally Robertson leads tributes following death of Cyrille Regis

The footballing legends enjoyed seven years playing together at The Hawthorns in one of the greatest teams Baggies fans have ever seen.

Robertson, a former centre-back, revealed he and striker Regis struck up and instant rapport from the moment they first met with the duo enjoying a number of tussles on the training field.

But that friendship went beyond football, with Robertson hailing his friend as one of the greats of the game.

“I’m heartbroken,” Robertson said.

“It’s impossible to describe how I felt when I was told the news this morning - I feel so sorry for his wife Julia and everyone he has left behind.

“Cyrille is a true great. We used to call him a gentle giant, he was the ultimate gentleman. I used to say he was too gentle, that is how great he was.

“I just feel so privileged to have known a teenage Cyrille and have been able to watch so closely everything he achieved both in the game and in life in general.

“We used to laugh together all the time. I cannot believe he has gone.”

Ally Robertson's full tribute will be in tomorrow's Express & Star.

Garry Thompson

Former Albion striker Garry Thompson paid tribute to his former team-mate and “hero” Cyrille Regis for helping “kill the myths” about black footballers.

Thompson was a trainee at Coventry City when Regis, Laurie Cunningham and Brendon Batson broke into the Baggies team in the late 1970s.

He explained how the trio became an inspiration for young black players.

“There were no black players,” said Thompson. “Then Brendon joined Albion, followed by Cyrille and Laurie. It all came together.

“I was an apprentice at Coventry and suddenly I am seeing these people close at hand.

“There was only one other black player at Coventry in the youth. Suddenly there are three of them in the Albion first-team.

“The three of them killed the myths about black players – that we didn’t like the physical nature of the game, or couldn’t play in the cold.

“It made me and many others think, ‘We can do this’.”

Steve Bull

Steve Bull joined the tributes to Cyrille Regis, describing his former Wolves team-mate as “a man and a player I looked up to”.

The pair spent a season together at Molineux after Graham Turner signed Regis, then aged 35, in the summer of 1993.

Injuries meant the duo rarely featured together on the pitch for Wolves but they struck up an immediate bond off the field.

Bull said: “I was the big player at Wolves but Cyrille is one of those players I always looked up to - a true legend of the game.

“He had done so much both on and off the pitch. He was on another level.

“We got on well. There was a period in that season when we were both injured and we spent our days together in the gym.

“He was a competitive person and so was he. We used to test each other, have little competitions, trying to outdo each other whether it be the number of push-ups we could.

“He was a great bloke and a great friend. This is absolutely devastating.”

Despite Regis being firmly established as an Albion great, he received a rapturous reception when making his Wolves debut at Molineux as a substitute in a 3-1 win over Bristol City.

Bull added: “That showed the huge respect he commanded, not just at Albion but around the Midlands and beyond.

“There were not many like him. As a player he was ferocious, always wanting to win. Such a great competitor.

“As far as I was concerned Cyrille was up there with the best.”

Ron Atkinson

Ron Atkinson paid an emotional tribute to Cyrille Regis, describing him as “the best centre-forward I ever worked with – but an even better bloke”.

Atkinson managed Regis, who has died at the age of 59, at both Albion and Villa.

Regis was a key part of the Baggies team which finished third in the First Division under Atkinson’s reign in the 1978/79 campaign.

The pair were then reunited at Villa Park for two seasons after Atkinson signed Regis on a free transfer in 1991.

Atkinson said: “Cyrille was probably the best centre-forward I ever worked with – and I worked with a few good ones.

“But the thing about him was he was an even better bloke than he was player.”

Atkinson recalled watching Regis for the first time in the flesh after taking charge at The Hawthorns in January 1978.

“Cyrille had these huge thighs and great power, phenomenal pace. He had a good touch as well," said Atkinson.

“There wasn’t a single centre-half who liked playing against him. It remains ridiculous that he only won five England caps, even though there were quite a few decent forwards around at the time.”

Regis’s influence at Albion extended far beyond the pitch. Together with team-mates Brendon Batson and Laurie Cunningham, he helped break down barriers which had previously blocked the path of black players in the game.

“The three of them led by example,” said Atkinson. “The way Cyrille conducted himself, he never let anything get to him.

“I think it helped that he had come up from non-league and experienced life outside the game. He always had a great perspective on things.”