'I met my boyhood hero Kevin Keegan - I will never forget his honesty and sense of humour'

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They say that you should never meet your heroes.Kevin Keegan, a legend of the game and a hero to millions, was the exception to that rule.Growing up on Tyneside, he was my idol at school because of his exploits with Liverpool, England, Hamburg and then of course my beloved Newcastle United, where he was a player and then manager.As a kid with black curly hair, I bought a full England kit and the red, white and blue wristbands worn by my hero back in the 1970s and 80s, when I was still at school.Keegan was ahead of his time, the first star of the modern era, promoting Brut on TV and competing on BBC's 'Superstars'.When I started working for the Mirror in 1993, I met him when he managed England, and later when he was in club football at Fulham.Keegan made a point of coming to meet George Cohen when I accompanied the 1966 hero to his old club to discuss the sale of Cohen's World Cup medal.Fulham bought it for £80,000 and displayed it at the ground where Cohen had played with such distinction.Keegan took care of George that day, making us both feel welcome while discussing playing for England and his memories of 1966.I was always struck by his honesty, his friendliness even when times were hard - and his sense of humour.I met 'King Kev', as he was known on Tyneside, for the last time there for the unveiling of Alan Shearer's statue in 2016.He gave a friendly hello, recognising me from our previous meetings and recalling his time with Shearer.He had signed the Premier League's all-time top scorer for a then world-record £15m while he was manager.Surrounded by fans at the unveiling, he never refused an autograph request, and was perfectly at ease with the public.In fact, he was in his element with supporters, talking about the game he loved.Keegan had the common touch, which is why he remained such a hugely popular figure throughout his career, even when his stint as England boss came to an untimely end.In his last public appearance on Tyneside, on May 31 at the New Tyne Theatre, he spoke openly of his cancer diagnosis with the courage which he had displayed throughout his playing career.He had joked with his surgeon, a Liverpool fan, that he 'would never walk alone'.No truer words were spoken; Kevin Keegan was loved by fans everywhere he went and never walked alone.He told that last audience in Newcastle that he did not want a statue because he wanted to go back to St James' Park to see the supporters one last time.Tragically, he was cruelly robbed of that return.But there may be a statue to him yet.