The morning after the sad passing of Sports Scientist Paul Conway the management duo of Keith Hill and Dave Flitroft provided a united front in their grief as they spoke about the loss of a key member of the Rochdale Family.

Keith said " It is so tragic. We have lost a friend and colleague, Jackie has lost a husband and Ben and James have lost a father. Paul was someone who was special to us and will remain forever special to myself, Dave and the rest of the staff. It is really sad and at times like this it makes you realise that football isn't the most important thing in the world. He will forever be my friend and I am struggling to come to terms with what has occurred."

What always struck you about Paul was that he was such a nice man and Dave described him as " genuine. It is word that we often used where Paul was concerned. He would go to great lengths to help any player or indeed anyone with an problem. He would speak to Professors, he would go to the other end of the country and would do whatever he needed to get the right advice. He would see anything through and that is what he was about. The tragedy for me is that he worked all his life, having a load of jobs to support his degree, and then been taken from us now."

For Keith it is a loss of a member of the family that he has created and Paul's passing affects everyone at the Football Club.

" He was a massive member of the family. I have worked with him over the last 5 years, more recently on a full time basis in our environment. Paul was special and remains special. As Dave says he was totally genuine and people like that will always be part of our family. We wanted to progress together and Paul will always be part of our team. He was and still us part of our family and so are Jackie, Ben and James. We will offer every bit of support that we can to them"

" Pauls passing is a severe loss to me personally and to Flicker and to the rest of the staff. People will not realise the impact that he had on the players as well because they are suffering as well. He would do anything and everything he possibly could to aid us in our goal to be better. Paul always did his best at his job and we were very priviliged to have the opportunity to work with him."

There is nothing in the managers handbook for Keith to draw on as he tries to deal with this devastating blow so how does he go about his work over the next few days?

" I simply don't know. I find it difficult at this moment to assess how I am going to react. The players will react on an individual basis and I can't possibly give anyone advice on it. I am finding it so difficult myself and in a situation like this you realise how important life is and making the most of it. Every day that you wake up you have to make the most of the opportunities that present themselves. Paul epitomised that and worked every hour that God sent to make himself better and to improve myself, the players and the football club as a whole."