Aston Villa boss Alex McLeish has revealed that it was difficult for his players to face Swansea yesterday in the wake of the news of Gary Speed's death.

Wales national team manager Speed was found dead at his home early on Sunday at the age of 42, but the match at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea went ahead despite the visible grief of many players on both teams.

"Shay Given gave me the terrible news 10 minutes before my team talk and my blood ran cold. It was just unbelievable," McLeish said.

"Shay was still getting his head around it because he had been told earlier in the day at the hotel.

"I think it would have been even more devastating for him if he had heard it in a whisper in the stadium itself when the story started to reverberate around the corridors and stands.

"Shay told James Collins and the domino effect meant they all started to feel it as they realised they had lost such a great guy."

A minute's silence before the game turned into spontaneous applause amid chants of "There's only one Gary Speed."

"I was worried about Shay. He was shaking, he was upset at the minute's silence which turned into applause and I was really worried about losing him," McLeish added.

"James Collins was as white as a sheet and Jermaine Jenas played with Gary at Newcastle as his midfield partner so these guys were all extremely distraught."

Given and Jenas, former teammates of Speed, along with Wales defender James Collins were offered the chance to sit out the match, but McLeish said that they played as a tribute to their late friend.

"A few of my players were upset pre-match and it's to their credit they didn't let it affect their performances. In fact Shay pulled off a great save near the end when we needed it, so his concentration was great," he said. "We would have totally understood if Swansea had wanted to postpone the game.

"As part of the motivation for playing the game I said to my players to make this a tribute to Gary. Part of making that tribute must be to play to your top level, play to your very best and let that drive you through the game.

"The players were absolutely drained after the match and there will be a few more tears shed."

McLeish went on to play his own tribute to Speed.

"I never actually played against Gary. I just remember in my days in Scotland seeing him scoring goals for every team he played for," he said.

"I recall him ploughing through the midfield, arriving late in the box, brilliant in the air, then playing on until he was nearly 40. He was a fantastic professional and everybody in the game loved him.

"He was doing a brilliant job with the Wales national team and it seemed international football was the thing for him.

"Wales are flying at the moment and this is a big loss. It's a big loss to football but, of course, the biggest loss is to his family."

Speed is survived by his wife and two young sons.