FORMER footballer Alan Shearer is today expected to be named as the new patron of the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.He will meet Sir Bobby's widow Lady Elsie and sons Paul, Andrew and Mark, who asked him to join the cancer-fighting cause following the former Ipswich Town manager's death in July.

FORMER footballer Alan Shearer is today expected to be named as the new patron of the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.

He will meet Sir Bobby's widow Lady Elsie and sons Paul, Andrew and Mark, who asked him to join the cancer-fighting cause following the former Ipswich Town manager's death in July.

The foundation was set up with the aim of raising �500,000 to equip a cancer trials centre in Newcastle, and that figure was reached in just seven weeks. The figure now stands at more than �1.8 million.

"It was a huge honour for me to be asked by Sir Bobby's family to join his charity as patron and I was very happy to accept,'' said Mr Shearer.

"Bobby's death left a gaping hole in football and within the North East as a region. He's a man I admired greatly and I know I'll continue to miss him in the coming years.

"He is completely irreplaceable and the esteem he was held in became very apparent after he passed away.

"The outpouring of affection and respect for him was phenomenal and it's not something we are likely to see again."

The Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre at the Freeman Hospital opened in February, less than a year after fundraising started.

Sir Bobby, who was also a former manager of Newcastle United and England, hoped the centre would be his greatest legacy.

He fought cancer five times and inspired many with his determined fundraising despite fading health.