Tuesday 25 April 2017 13:06, UK
Ugo Ehiogu was a standard bearer for talented and aspiring football coaches, according to Tottenham academy coaches Kenny Jackett and Taff Rahman.
Tottenham U23 coach Ehiogu died last week, aged 44, after suffering a cardiac arrest at Tottenham's training ground and being rushed to hospital.
Former Rotherham and Millwall boss Jackett has been coaching at Tottenham's academy since the turn of the year, and speaking at Kick It Out's Raise Your Game conference on Monday, Jackett said Spurs youngsters are still coming to terms with Ehiogu's death.
"Ugo was a genuinely great guy and a fantastic coach with a really bright future," Jackett told Sky Sports News HQ.
"He was somebody I grew to knew in recent months and I was really impressed with his standards as a person and his standards as a coach. He had a very realistic and down-to-earth approach to coaching, which I felt really helped the young players at Spurs a great deal.
"He was there to help the players. On a human level it's such a shock for them and so difficult for them to understand."
Former Aston Villa and Middlesbrough defender Ehiogu initially joined Tottenham as a youth development coach, and progressed through the ranks, taking charge of the U21s in 2014, and later the U23s.
Rahman has a similar role to the one the former England international performed when he first joined Spurs' academy, and the British-Bangladeshi coach says BME coaches must push on in Ehiogu's memory.
"It's going to take a long time to for this to digest. Ugo was an unbelievable person and I still can't believe it's actually happened," Rahman said
"What Ugo did for the players, what he did for the game, and how he carried himself and inspired others can never been taken away.
"He was on a great pathway and I have taken inspiration from that. The best way [BME coaches and] the football family can honour him is by continuing on."
Jackett and Rahmann were two of 90 mentors at Monday's Raise Your Game conference, providing advice to more than 350 people on how to break into the football industry.
Kick It Out's education manager Troy Townsend led a minute's applause for Ehiogu at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium before Monday's FA and Premier League supported event got underway.
Townsend is the father of Crystal Palace winger Andros and told Sky Sports News HQ he will never forget what Ehiogu did for their family.
"Ugo was somebody who could empathise with people. He was someone who knew young players need guidance and support, and someone who took time with them and cared," Townsend said
"I got to know him a little bit more when Andros fell on hard times at Tottenham and had to play and train with the U23s. As a family, Andros included, we will never forget what he did for him."
