Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish said he offered three of his players the chance to sit out of the club's clash with Swansea City yesterday following the tragic death of Gary Speed.
The Wales national team manager was found dead early on Sunday morning and the news was not well-received by Shay Given, James Collins and Jermaine Jenas in particular.
Given and Jenas both played with Speed at Newcastle United whilst Collins served the Welsh team under the late 42-year old and all three were visibly affected by the news prior to the scoreless draw at the Liberty Stadium.
"Shay Given gave me the terrible news 10 minutes before my team talk and my blood ran cold. It was just unbelievable," he said.
"Shay was still getting his head around it because he had been told earlier in the day at the hotel.
"I think it would have been even more devastating for him if he had heard it in a whisper in the stadium itself when the story started to reverberate around the corridors and stands.
"Shay told James Collins and the domino effect meant they all started to feel it as they realised they had lost such a great guy.
"I was worried about Shay. He was shaking, he was upset at the minute's silence which turned into applause and I was really worried about losing him.
"James Collins was as white as a sheet and Jermaine Jenas played with Gary at Newcastle as his midfield partner so these guys were all extremely distraught."
