The sudden death of former Gillingham manager Neale Cooper has left the club devastated.

A host of former players have paid tribute to Cooper following his death on Monday, passing away at the age of 54, following a fall at his home near Aberdeen.

Cooper took charge of the Gills in the summer of 2005 following the club’s relegation from the Championship.

One of the highlights of his tenure was a 3-2 Carling Cup victory over then-Premiership side Portsmouth. Striker Darren Byfield scored one of the goals that day and he said: “Neale Cooper was a top guy and I loved him as my manager at Gillingham.

"He was one of the managers that I really did enjoy playing for and I played some of my best football under him.”

Byfield wore the captain’s armband on a couple of occasions under Cooper, as a stand-in for Chris Hope, who tweeted about his former boss, saying he was “shocked and saddened” to hear of the news.

Cooper quit the Gills on November 15, 2005, after winning seven of his 22 competitive games in charge. Of his 10 defeats, the FA Cup loss at non-league Burscough was one many fans still remember with horror.

A 2-0 defeat in the league at Walsall followed, the final straw for Cooper, who had previously enjoyed success as a manager at Ross County and Hartlepool.

As a player, he enjoyed notable success at Aberdeen, under the management of Alex Ferguson, where he won the 1983 European Cup Winners' Cup and the European Super Cup, along with numerous domestic honours.

Gillingham chairman Paul Scally said: “Neale was a nice man who I got on very well with and he was incredibly dedicated to his work.

“He was very well respected, very friendly and naturally my thoughts are with his loved ones at this very difficult time."

Brent Sancho was one of Cooper’s signings and the former Gills defender said “(He) gave me my chance and was always supportive.”

Craig Stone was handed his first Football League appearance by Cooper, coming off the bench in a 3-1 defeat at Hartlepool.

He said he “owed so much” to his former manager.

Another of the club’s former youth players, Frannie Collin, scored in that game, having made his first senior appearance three games earlier. Colin tweeted that he was “shocked and saddened to hear the man who gave me my football league debut has passed away”.