Alan Shearer has heartbreakingly revealed it will be 'very tough' to work on Match of the Day following the death of his father earlier this year.
The Newcastle icon has been a regular on the show ever since retiring from football back in 2006.
Back in May, Shearer tragically lost his father, also named Alan, following a battle with cancer.
He had already beaten the disease at the age of 65 and Shearer, speaking to The Athletic, has now opened up on the impact his death has had.
Alan Shearer has heartbreakingly revealed it will be 'very tough' to work on Match of the Day following the death of his father earlier this year
BBC
"He told us exactly what he wanted and he told us that when the time came, he wanted to be at home. And he was. We were all there with him and it was very peaceful. The pain had gone," he said.
"On the way, there were light and dark moments. We knew what was coming and one day when I was trying to switch off for a couple of hours, I got a call from my mam, 'Dad wants you and Karen home now. He’s ready to go.'
"In the end, he lasted for another 27 or 28 hours, but on that final evening, he talked through his life, the people he had fights with and didn’t like and plans for his own funeral. He was laughing and reminiscing.
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"The clarity was amazing."
Shearer then revealed that the Match of the Day theme tune was played at his father's funeral.
"Along with Will, my son, I’d carried his coffin into the crematorium — the hardest thing I’ve ever done — as the Match of the Day theme blared out, jaunty and loud," he said.
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"The music was his decision too, although he pinched that idea from my mam, telling us shortly before he died that this was what he wanted."
After his father's death, Shearer continued to work on Match of the Day.
The 54-year-old says he worked with the 'blinkers on'.
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Alan Shearer and his son Will (pictured right) carried the coffin of the football icon's late father while the Match of the Day theme tune blared out
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And Shearer says it will be 'very tough' to return to the show this Saturday after the first round of Premier League fixtures.
"I got to the end of last season with the blinkers on. I appeared on Match of the Day a couple of times and glided through it, just as I did for my punditry work at the European Championship, but the here and now feels different," he said.
"I’ll be in the BBC studios in Salford this weekend and I honestly can’t tell you how it will feel when that famous tune starts up, but I do know it will be tough — very tough.
Alan Shearer has been a regular on Match of the Day since retiring from football back in 2006
BBC
"This won’t come as a total surprise to most of you, but like my dad, I’m not emotional by nature, yet at 54 years old I’m heading into my first season without him beside me, without him just there.
"It’s a void that can’t be filled and it still feels very raw."
