West Brom stars pay their respects to Derrick Jones

More than a dozen current Baggies stars joined former Hawthorns favourites at Powke Lane Cemetery in Rowley Regis yesterday to remember the masseur, who died last week at the age of 64.

Players and friends packed into the chapel with the turnout meaning some had to stand in the foyer and outside.

Former Baggies club chaplain Rev Ken Hipkiss conducted the service and said: "He was quite a good tenor and he used to appear in comedy sketches and pantomimes.

"He was a multi-talented man who was also a good poet. He became a masseur through Marion and loved his job at West Bromwich Albion.

"He lived for his work and even delayed his treatment last year until the close season."

Head coach Steve Clarke and current players Ben Foster, Steven Reid, Jonas Olsson, Liam Ridgewell, James Morrison, Shane Long, Chris Brunt, Boaz Myhill, Graham Dorrans, Luke Daniels, Zoltan Gera, Gareth McAuley, Craig Dawson, Billy Jones, Kemar Roofe and Liam O'Neil all attended. And they were joined by former team-mates Jonathan Greening, Paul Robinson and Curtis Davies.

Clarke attended along with assistant head coach Keith Downing, goalkeeping coach Dean Kiely, physiotherapists Richie Rawlins and Steve Wright, fitness coach Matt Green, kitman Pat Frost and Jones' fellow masseur Simon Griffiths.

Jones, who had worked for Albion since 2005, had surgery last summer after being diagnosed with a serious illness. He died at home in Halesowen last week.

Before becoming a masseur, he had travelled the world as a pipe quality controller.