Macclesfield chairman Mike Rance on Wednesday paid an emotional tribute to Keith Alexander, who has tragically died at the age of 53.
Alexander, who suffered a brain aneurysm in November 2003, passed away after arriving home from Macclesfield's 1-0 League Two defeat at Notts County on Tuesday night. The Nottingham-born manager recently celebrated his two-year anniversary in charge of the Silkmen and his death has left the Cheshire club deeply shocked.
Rance told Press Association Sport: "We're all absolutely devastated. I spoke to Keith last night at about 11.15pm after our game at Notts County and he was in good spirits because, although we lost, we had given a team chasing promotion a good game."
Rance added: "We were chatting about an FA hearing after he had a row with a referee at Bournemouth, which just shows how passionate he was about the game. It was perhaps fitting that the last conversation we had was about football."
The exact cause of Alexander's death remains unclear, but Rance said: "He went home after the game last night, collapsed and was taken to hospital. Tragically, he never recovered."
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