THE manager of an amateur football club, who died from an aggressive rare form of cancer, has been honoured.

A new stand at Mill Hill St Peter's has been named after Kieran Keigher, 34, who died a year ago.

The year before he had proposed to his partner.

The stand's upgrade was made possible by a £2,000 donation to the club in Mr Keigher’s memory on request by his family instead of having flowers at his funeral.

All the steel work was also donated by Darwen based WEC Group, and the company's apprentices worked on the stand.

Club chairman Michael Ashcroft said: “We didn’t want to just put up a plaque or a bench.

“We wanted something that would last and the Kieran Keigher stand should last for another 50 years.

“Kieran’s mum, Philomena, and his wife, Rachel, are really happy with how the stand looks.

“We’ve had a good reaction from everyone who’s seen it.

“We will be having a game at the end of the season in August against the all blacks to official open the stand.”

A spokesman for Mr Keigher’s family said: “It’s a lovely tribute and one that all the family are immensely proud of.

“Kieran spent a lot of time down at Mill Hill St Peter’s and as well as managing the team, had a lot of friends at the club, it was a massive part of his life.

“Kieran has a lot of friends at both clubs that were, like us, devastated by his loss, so this is a wonderful way for us all to remember him each year.

“Football careers and life can be cut very short and hopefully seeing Kieran’s name on the stand will inspire a few people to live for the day and give their all."