Robbie Savage wants to remember father as 'best dad in the world'

London, Mar 17 (ANI): Robbie Savage, whose father passed away recently, has said that his family wants him "to go out and talk football" because that what his dad would have wished.

For three years the 'Strictly Come Dancing' star saw his beloved father fade in front of his eyes, a devastating disease gradually stealing his hero away from him.

His devoted mum Val spent every hour caring for dad Colin until, last Saturday, he finally lost his battle for life.

Savage, 37, was at his father's bedside as he died from pneumonia after a long fight against Pick's disease, similar to Alzheimer's.

Last year, in another cruel blow, he had also been diagnosed with Parkinson's.

"Anyone who's experienced Pick's or Alzheimer's knows that it doesn't just claim one victim. The other one who is left to care is a victim too," the Mirror quoted the Former Premier League star as saying.

"In the last three years dad should have been in a home but my mum, who idolised and loved him for 40 years, refused to let that happen.

"She cared for him 24/7, like her mum did for my grandad. It has been a horrendous time for her.

"In a way it is my dad's last gift to her that she gets her life back again. She doesn't see it that way of course - she just wants him back and it is heartbreaking," he said.

Pick's disease can be hereditary and Savage is well aware that one day he may be another victim.

"There are tests I could have to see if I am likely to get it. But I want to go on living like I do at the moment, as if every day could be my last, just loving life.

"The truth is that I don't think I'm brave enough to know or brave enough to cope with it in the way dad did," he said.

A regular on social networking site Twitter, Savage mapped out Colin's final hours in a series of emotional tweets from Maelor hospital in Wrexham.

Last Friday he told his 700,000 followers, "Dad is still fighting but has slipped into a coma... If you're with your dad now give him a kiss and tell him you love him, 'cos they won't be here for ever."

"I'm devastated to tell you at 2 o'clock this morning my hero, my father and my best friend lost his life. He was so brave," he tweeted on Saturday.

"We were with him, he battled for so long. We as a family have lost a great man, we will miss him so much, he never complained once," he wrote.

Just eight hours after he passed away at the age of 64, Savage appeared in his regular stint on Radio Five Live's football call-in show 606.

"My dad was a grafter and he loved football. His funeral is next Thursday and we've got the FA Cup anthem, Abide With Me, as one of the hymns," he said.

"I spoke to my family and they said, 'He'd have wanted you to go out and talk football'. It was hard, but that's what I did. I'm a believer in God but with Gary Speed and now dad, you wonder why bad things happen to innocent and good people," he added.

Savage went on to say how he will miss his dad after all they have been through.

"When I was a kid he would come straight home from work every night and not even get in the front door - I'd be waiting at the window with my kit on, ready for him to drive me out to training.

"Then we'd get fish and chips on the way home.

"That's how I'll always remember him - the best dad in the world," he added. (ANI)