Source: Bournemouth_Echo
Football: Howe pays tribute to Mr Nice Guy Alexander
Cherries boss Eddie Howe has paid tribute to Macclesfield Town manager Keith Alexander who died on Tuesday, aged 53. Alexander, who recently took time off due to illness, passed away after arriving home following Macclesfield's League Two match at Notts County. A former St Lucia international, he spent time out of the game in 2003 after suffering a brain aneurysm while manager at Lincoln, but returned after he was given the all-clear by doctors. Alexander, a father of two, played for a string of clubs during his career and managed Lincoln in their play-off final defeat by Cherries in 2003 Howe last locked horns with Alexander when Cherries hosted Macclesfield at Dean Court 12 days ago. I was stunned and deeply saddened when I heard the news, said Howe. I always found him to be very friendly and very helpful and he was one of the nicest guys in football. It's a cut-throat industry but he was always very polite and very friendly. He was obviously very good at his job because he was working under a really tight budget and doing a really good job with the resources he had. Although I invited him into our office after the game, I didn't get to see him after we had played them earlier this month. On the Monday morning, he left a message to apologise for not coming in because he said they had had to leave in a rush. It said a great deal about him that he took the time and trouble to phone to apologise for not coming in. Little things like that make you realise what a thoroughly decent and honorable man he was. Howe also spoke with Alexander ahead of Cherries' 2-1 win at Moss Rose in November. He added: He came straight up to me as we got off the team bus and said some comments attributed to him had appeared in the press about administration and our club's finances. He said he wanted me to know that he had not said those things and that he had nothing but respect for me and our club. That again said a lot about the type of man he was. My thoughts, together with those of everybody associated with our football club, go out to his family and to everyone at Macclesfield Town Football Club.