Alan Shearer, the man who helped turn Jack Walker's Blackburn dream into reality, yesterday led the tributes to the Ewood Park owner.

Walker's death at the age of 71 followed a long battle against cancer.

Although he turned his hometown club into a respectable top-flight outfit until their relegation two seasons ago, his time in charge of the club will chiefly be remembered for the Premier League title which was won in a nailbiting climax to the 1994-95 season.

The one-point triumph over Manchester United ended a run of 80 years without a league championship at the Lancashire club and was earned largely on the back of Shearer's goals following his surprise £3.5m move from Southampton.

It meant that the faith Shearer placed in Walker when he turned down a big-money offer to join Manchester United had been justified and it was with a slightly heavy heart that he ditched the millionaire steel magnate to join Newcastle two years later.

''The word benefactor could have been invented for Jack Walker - he gave pride to the town of Blackburn,'' said Shearer.

''Jack was a kind, generous and emotional man. The memories of the day Blackburn won the Premiership will stay with me forever.

''Football has lost a true friend.''

Walker was universally respected at Blackburn, not just for the money he ploughed into the club but also because he never lost touch with his roots.

Growing up on the cobbled streets of the old mill town, Walker retained a feel for the common man, even though the sale of his company to British Steel allowed him to live luxuriously as a tax exile in Jersey.

''He had time for everyone,'' said Pauline Perkins, secretary of the Blackburn Rovers Supporters Association (BRSA).

''If he went along to a function, whether it was associated with Blackburn or not, he would just hand over a huge amount of cash.

''He was so generous and I never heard a bad word said about him.

''He turned a mill town club into a side which could compete against and beat the city giants.

''But he never let his status change anything about his character. To us all he was just Uncle Jack.''

The BRSA is calling for a memorial statue to be constructed at Ewood Park in tribute to Walker.

''Jack Walker did more than any other individual in the last century to enhance the self-confidence and the prosperity of his home town of Blackburn,'' said Home Secretary Jack Straw, a lifelong Blackburn fan.

''His contribution to the club was enormous but that was based in turn on the prosperity he created through his astonishing development of Walker Steel and of many other investments in the area.

''Behind a disarmingly guileless exterior he was one of the shrewdest men I have ever met.

''I salute a great local hero, and shall miss him very badly.''

Chairman Robert Coar was the figurehead of the club under Walker's control and said: ''It goes without saying just how much we will miss him but he has left us with some fantastic memories.