Cardiff City striker Robert Earnshaw admits Gary Speed's passing is "hard to take".
Earnshaw says playing for the Wales coach was "inspirational".
He told Absolute Radio: "Well, I mean, you know, this is the thing, you know, everybody forgets that everybody is a human being, you know. They think you’re on TV, they think you’re playing football on TV and you get seen out and about, you know, you’ve got no problems, you’ve got no troubles. You know, people have troubles no matter who you are and that’s the thing, so that’s what’s so shocking as well, is how it’s happened, what’s the reason, and hopefully we’ll find out over the next few days, but really it’s just hard to take.
"On the football side, if it was just the football side, things couldn’t be any better, you know, he was absolutely amazing to work with. Over the last year or so he’s really turned Welsh football around because it was in a mess before him, but as soon as he took over he really showed what should be happening and how the whole country can be lifted by football and what his vision was for us. That’s we’re going to hold and take from him, you know, his real proudness to be Welsh and to want the football team to do well and for us to do well, you know.
"I mean, it’s just horrible that he’s not going to be around, we’re going to miss him dearly. Again, it’s hard to actually just realise that he’s not going to be around because you don’t want to believe the news because you don’t want it to happen, you know?"
Despite Speed's success with Leeds United, Everton and Newcastle United, Earnshaw says he always remained humble and grounded.
"As a manager he wasn’t… you know, because you’ve got to not forget, he’s achieved so, so much, you know, as much as anybody in the game, you know, and he’s achieved so much in football as a player but he didn’t have a big ego to go with it, you know.
"He was ready to work as a manager then, he didn’t just think he was a great player and he could just bring that on, you know, it was just going to happen, be a good manager. He was very, very driven, so because of that drive he actually made us better, you know, as players. So like I said, for the last year as a manager he’s been an inspiration because he’s brought a different way, and he wanted to be proud of us and do well for Wales, and makes everybody do well as well, you know. We’ve benefited, the players, you can tell on the pitch that everything… he’s made us better and he’s made us a team, and everybody’s just been excited over the last year, and everybody’s going to be excited for 2014 with him in charge, you know so that’s been taken away.
"But as a guy as well, you know, I’ve known him for a long time and I’ve only got great things to say about him, only got great things because he was a top, top professional, top guy, and you could speak to him as well, you could speak to him, he was never far away, you could always say anything to him. You know, all these things, it’s horrible that he’s not going to be around."
