Former Blackburn Rovers player and coach Tony Parkes has died at the age of 76, the club confirmed on Wednesday.
Parkes, who spent 34 years with the Lancashire club, made over 400 appearances as a midfielder before serving under 16 different managers, including Kenny Dalglish during the Premier League title-winning season in 1994-95. He also had six separate stints as caretaker manager before leaving in 2004.
In 2020, Parkes was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. His daughter Natalie announced his death.
'Mr Blackburn Rovers'
Parkes joined Rovers from non-league Buxton in May 1970 and helped the team win the third-tier title in 1974-75.
In an obituary, Blackburn described him as: "A tough-tackling and tireless midfield grafter, who was prepared to do the unspectacular leg work in the middle of the park, he also liked to run with the ball and was a difficult man to stop in full flight. Furthermore, he possessed a centre-forward's eye for goal and scored a number of important goals from his midfield role."
He retired from playing in 1982 with 46 goals in 409 games and became first-team coach under Bobby Sexton. Parkes was part of the club's journey from the second division to Premiership champions in 1994-95 under owner Jack Walker.
Rovers credited him for steering the club to top-flight safety in 1996-97 after Ray Harford's departure left the team at the bottom of the league.
He left Blackburn in November 2004 after a final caretaker spell following Graeme Souness' exit for Newcastle. Parkes later scouted for Leicester City and became Simon Grayson's assistant at Blackpool, finishing his coaching career there in a caretaker role after Grayson left for Leeds in the 2008-09 season, leading Blackpool to a 16th-place finish in the Championship.
Blackburn will hold a special tribute before their final Championship game of the season at home to Leicester on Saturday, 2 May.
Former Blackburn striker and Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer posted on X: "RIP Tony. A great man."