AN INQUEST will be opened today into the death of the Wales football manager Gary Speed at his home in Cheshire, England.

Nicholas Rheinberg, the coroner, confirmed through a spokesman that his office had been informed of the death by police. The inquest will be opened at the coroners court at Warrington town hall before a full hearing takes place at a later date.

The body of Speed (42), was found by his wife, Louise, in the garage of their home in the village of Huntington, near Chester, shortly after 7am on Sunday. Police said the death was not being treated as suspicious. The couple lived there with their two teenage sons, and Speed was said to have been a devoted family man.

At a later date, the coroner will establish the cause of death. It has been widely reported that Speed took his own life but this has yet to be confirmed officially.

A book of remembrance has been set up in the reception area of the Football Association of Wales (FAW) headquarters in Cardiff. An area outside has been set aside as a garden of remembrance and the FAW praised Speed’s “exemplary” career.

Supporters have also left scarves, football shirts and flowers at several football stadiums – including Leeds United’s Elland Road, Newcastle United’s St James’ Park as well as the Millennium Stadium and Cardiff City Stadium, where Wales play home games.

The personal loyalty Speed attracted was vividly shown in Leeds where the statue of former United captain Billy Bremner at the ground had almost disappeared under scarves, flowers and inscribed shirts by midday yesterday. Leeds was Speed’s first club. He turned out 312 times for them and played a major part when they won the first division title in 1992.

Flags outside the Welsh assembly in Cardiff flew at half-mast yesterday.

In London, a Downing Street spokesman said: “The prime minister was deeply saddened to hear of the death of Gary Speed, who was greatly respected by football fans across the country both as a player and manager.

“The prime minister’s thoughts are with his family and friends on this very sad day for fans everywhere, especially in Wales.”

Wales’ next match on February 29th will be a celebration of Speed’s life. It is understood that the wish is for the match to be a meaningful fixture as preparation for the 2014 World Cup qualification campaign that starts later in the year and which Speed viewed as a real chance to take the country to a major tournament for the first time since 1958.

The opposition, and whether the friendly will be played home or away, is yet to be decided but if it is staged in Wales the FAW will ensure proceedings in and around the match will be a memorial.

The FAW’s first thought is to allow a suitable period of mourning. The national body is determined that Speed’s family are left to grieve, so any decision regarding how best to pay tribute to him will wait until they are ready to discuss the matter.

Some fans have proposed that the game be staged between a Wales XI and an All Star XI, or a Wales team featuring former players against the current side.

Neville Southall, Wales’ most-capped player, favours an alternative. “I’d love to see them play a game in an international week against players from his former clubs,” he said.

“Get some of the Newcastle lads down, some from Everton, Bolton, Sheffield United, Leeds and maybe dedicate the game to his family. Pack the Millennium and everyone can pay their respects. If that can’t be done, I’d like to see a proper footballing power turn up. It would be a sombre event but it would be a success.”

With the packed domestic calendar, the staging of a specially arranged Wales game is not thought feasible at the FAW, with the body also conscious that Speed’s family should lead the way regarding how best to remember him.

Pritchard said: “Obviously Louise [Speed’s wife] and the family are foremost in our thoughts. The tributes to him are endless – we are going to miss him tremendously in Welsh football; the world in football is going to miss him.

“I’ve already had a communication from Mr Blatter [Fifa president] and from Mr Platini [Uefa president]. That’s the respect that he has. At the moment we’re all still in shock.”

Guardian Service

Family express thanks for wide support

GARY SPEED’S family have spoken for the first time since his death on Sunday, stating that they are “overwhelmed by the support” received from the sporting and non-sporting world.

Regarding condolences that have included messages from David Cameron, the British prime minister, and Sepp Blatter, the Fifa president, Speed’s agent, Hayden Evans, said outside the family home in Cheshire: “Gary’s family would sincerely like to thank all the people that have sent messages of condolence and tributes in what is a very difficult time. We have been overwhelmed by the support and it really has helped. We would ask that the family are now given the respect of some privacy to just grieve on their own.”

Gary McAllister, Speed’s former Leeds United team-mate, recalled how he was “shook to the bones” when Alan Shearer informed him of his death.

The Scot, who won the title with Speed under Howard Wilkinson in the 1991-92 season, said: “Alan broke the news to me and it turned me to jelly. I couldn’t believe what he was saying. It shook me to the bones, I was in shock for most of the day.

"Twenty minutes before we went on air on Football Focuson Saturday, he was the normal Gary Speed to me. He was very excited about the prospects of the Welsh national team and was upbeat, looking class, immaculately presented. He was a movie star in my eyes.

“With no competitive Wales games until February we were talking about getting some golf organised. There were no signs, nothing to suggest he was troubled. He looked well . . . I could never have thought that 10 to 12 hours after I saw him I’d be getting that news.

“It’s a nightmare.

“I couldn’t see anything in Gary that suggested he was depressed or had any feeling of anxiety. He was just the Gary Speed that I know.”

McAllister said that Wilkinson and Gordon Strachan, another member of the Leeds championship-winning midfield, are “broken” by the news.

“Gordon took him under his wing and Howard couldn’t believe it when the news broke,” McAllister said.

“He was like a father figure, looking after him, when he left his home in Wales as a young apprentice, moulding him into the man he was.”

The 46-year-old has also spoken to Speed’s father, Roger. “It wasn’t a case of going into detail, just to say the support from our part of the country is here. The family need space and need to do their own private grieving. He was a guy we all loved,” said McAllister.

Strachan told BBC Radio 5 live: "People have problems in footy where you have an indication that something is wrong, but this one is right out of the blue. I trained beside him for six years at Leeds and I was proud of Gary Speed every time I saw him play or train."

Speed had guided Wales to four wins from their last five outings and Wales midfielder Gareth Bale said: “It was a massive shock, I don’t think anybody ever thought anything like this would happen.

"It is a tragedy, everyone still can't get their head around it and all our condolences go out to his family and his kids. It is a massive loss, but we will try and carry on the best we can in his honour." JAMIE JACKSON

Guardian Service

RENG’S BIOGRAPHY OF ENKE: Wins sports book of the year

RONALD Reng has won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award for A Life Too Short: The Tragedy of Robert Enke. Rengs biography of Robert Enke, the German national goalkeeper who suffered from depression and took his own life two years ago, was praised by the judging panel for its powerful and insightful nature as well as its sensitivity and sincerity.

A Life Too Shorttells of Enke's struggles against his own demons. First published in Germany (as Robert Enke: Ein allzu kurzes Leben), Reng's book became an international bestseller. Translated into English by Shaun Whiteside and published by Yellow Jersey Press this autumn, it is the first translated title to have won the prize.

Graham Sharpe, the co-founder of the William Hill prize, said: “Robert Enke was one of Germany’s greatest goalkeepers and his tragic death shocked the world. Ronald Reng’s intimate portrait . . . is an outstanding piece of sportswriting and a very worthy winner.”

Reng, a sports journalist, is also the author of The Keeper of Dreams: One Man's Controversial Story of Life in the English Premiership, the story of the goalkeeper Lars Leese and his time at Barnsley. Reng first met Enke in 2002, they became friends, and though they never discussed Enke's depression it was their intention to work together one day on his autobiography.

As well as a €27,000 cheque, Reng also receives a €2,330 William Hill bet, a hand-bound copy of his book, and a day at the races.