Leeds United legend Eddie Gray has paid tribute to his former teammate Mick Bates following his sad passing at the age of 73.

Bates played 191 times for the club, scoring nine goals, during Leeds’ most successful era to date.

Gray spoke of the great friendship Bates had with everyone in the squad and about his fondness for the club.

He said: “Mick was my workmate when we first started at Leeds United, we were on the ground staff together, but we weren’t very good at it!

“Don Revie took me and Mick off the ground staff when we were 16, you were meant to stay on it until you were 17 and a professional, but he took me and Mick off beforehand, probably because we could play a bit as well and we trained with the first team.

“He was a smashing lad, Mick, he was a top player, I always said he should have moved on as he was the understudy to Billy Bremner and Johnny Giles, but he loved the club so much and being part of it, which is why he stayed from 1963 until 1976.

“Mick had a great rapport with all of his teammates and everybody in our squad liked him, he was a great lad.

“He was a terrific player and probably the highlight of his career was the goal he scored away at Juventus which won the club the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup on away goals in 1971.

“As well as being a great footballer, as I said, Mick really was a top lad and was liked by everyone.”