A gentleman with good values who played football the right way.

That’s how former England goalkeeper Peter Shilton remembers Sir Bobby Robson – and says it is these qualities which endeared him to fans so much.

Many of Shilton’s 125 international caps came during the Robson era, the stopper playing in both the first and last games of his managerial tenure.

“I had a great spell with Bobby,” the former Leicester, Stoke and Derby player said yesterday during Ipswich Town’s annual open day which coincided with Sir Bobby Robson Day.

“He helped me to get a record 125 caps for England because he picked me in nearly all the games he played and I like to think I repaid him on the pitch.

“We always had a good relationship. He was a different type of manager to some managers like Brian Clough and Alf Ramsey and other managers I played under.

“Football fans love him because he was a gentleman and because of the way he played football.

“I’ve never heard anyone say a bad word against him. People always have a Bobby Robson story but it’s always a good one. It’s always he did this for us or couldn’t spend enough time with us or he had a photo with us. The public love him for that.”

“It was a sad ending for Bobby. I played in his farewell game for about 20 minutes and I was injured so I shouldn’t have played, but that shows you how much I felt about him. He came out on the pitch and I had one last chance to say ‘Nice to see you, gaffer’.

“But his legacy will live on and on. He’s just one of those people. Great managers and great people tend to have that effect.”

To read out more about how ITFC’s open day went click here.

To read Sir Bobby’s son Mark’s thoughts on his father and ITFC’s open day click here.