Watford’s elected Mayor Dorothy Thornhill has paid tribute to former Watford manager Graham Taylor.

Taylor, who also managed Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers, died of a suspected heart attack aged 72, his family said.

“It’s no overstatement to say that Graham was loved in this town", Mayor Thornhill said.

She added: “It’s such a cruel irony that when I last saw him at Vicarage Road on Boxing Day, both my son and I both remarked on how well he looked, as we knew he had recently been suffering from a period of illness.

“If you could describe Graham in a word it would be ‘decent’.

“He embodied everything good about football, and he believed that Watford Football Club wasn’t just another business – it was part of what made our town what it is.

READ MORE: Former Watford manager Graham Taylor has died

“Graham believed that the club had a huge role to play in the town – and his players had a duty to involve themselves in the community. Watford FC’s Community Sports and Education Trust were one of the first to be set up in the country, now dozens of clubs have them.”

In 2001, Taylor was awarded the Freedom of the Borough and his name is engraved on the wall of the Town Hall.

And in November, Taylor helped Mayor Thornhill open the newly refurbished Meriden community centre (below).

Watford Observer:

READ MORE: Troy Deeney and Graham Taylor open new £2 million pitch to be used by community football clubs

Mayor Thornhill added: “Graham passionately believed football should be for families, and our club is still like that. Vicarage Road is still somewhere where parents, children and grandparents can watch a game together and its part of what makes our club so special.

“To see Graham’s real legacy, you only have to look around the town – at all the Watford FC Trust’s activities on offer thanks to his passion for involving the club in the community, and at the huge sense of pride Watford residents feel in their town.

"He was a dedicated, proud and wholly decent man, and I will miss him terribly.”