The Lifford goalkeeper paid tribute to Speed in a book last year.
Speaking to Ciaran O’Donnell for his book ‘Donegal’s Sporting Greats’ Shay spoke about his former Newcastle teammate when referring to what he wanted to do in the future.
Said Shay: “I know that if I wasn’t involved in the game in the future I would miss it immensely because you get used to the banter in the changingroom.
“I’ve met some fantastic people down the years through the game and would still be quite friendly with Gary Speed. I played with Gary at Newcastle United for six seasons and he’s a super guy.
“He was always a natural leader and it was no surprise that he was promoted from coach to manager at Sheffield United when replacing Kevin Blackwell.”
Just a few weeks after the book was published, Speed was handed the manager’s job at Wales where he turned around the team’s fortunes.
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