Steve Brown has recalled the comedy antics of tragic striker Michael Thalassitis, who was found dead at the weekend.

Brown was Ebbsfleet United manager when he signed Thalassitis on loan from Stevenage in the summer of 2013.

The striker made 46 appearances for the Fleet that season, scoring 11 goals, and off the pitch he had the ability to make his team-mates laugh.

Brown said: "He was a smashing lad.

"With manager-player relationships, there are always going to be ups and downs because you've got to leave people out and they don't agree with you - that's fine.

"You have to make those tough decisions and there were times when Michael and me were looking away from each other, we didn't want to speak but ultimately when he was in your dressing-room, if he was playing well, he was unplayable as a striker.

"He had a dynamic with Alex Osborn that brought the dressing-room down. They were like a comedy duo.

"Honestly, when they got going in the dressing-room, I can't remember anybody being as funny as them two.

"It was jokes with each other, things they'd done during the day because they were quite mischievous and they were genuinely funny people.

"Whatever exterior Michael chose to show anybody on the outside world, inside he had a heart of gold. That's the tragedy of it all."

Brown, who also worked with Thalassitis at Margate, had been commentating for radio on Saturday as the news of Thalassitis' death was breaking.

He said: "I got a few phone calls from players from that (Ebbsfleet) squad. I was travelling back from a game and my phone went.

"The first call I took was from Chris Sessegnon. He said 'have you heard the news?' I said 'no' and he told me. You're just shocked and stunned but it doesn't really sink in.

"You're on a train, you've just done a game, you're on the way home and it doesn't sink in.

"By the time I got home, I'd spoken to Daryl McMahon (a team-mate of Thalassitis at Ebbsfleet) and Steve Watt (his manager at Margate).

"We've had a tragedy in our family. My wife's brother committed suicide eight years ago and it's just horrific for the individual because they're in such a bad place, that that's the only way they can see as a way out, which is tragic in itself, and the destruction it leaves behind.

"Suicide being what it is, there's a stigma attached to it and there shouldn't be. The person's not selfish at all for doing it. They're in such a dark place it's the only way they can see to relieve themselves of the mental anguish they're under but for the family left behind, because of the way the person's chosen to leave this world, they never get over it.

"Inside he had a heart of gold. That's the tragedy of it all..." Steve Brown

"I feel incredibly sorry for Michael in as much as I know what he probably was going through towards the end, because we've experienced it ourselves, and I feel incredibly sorry for his friends and family.

"Daryl said he spoke to Michael last Monday and said he was fine.

"It was the same with Mandy's brother. He had his problems but you think you're over the worst and you don't know what the final set-off is that leads them to commit suicide."

If you've been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can contact the Samaritans helpline on 116 123, 24 hours a day.

Kent County Council's Release the Pressure campaign can also offer support - call 0800 1070160 or visit releasethepressure.uk for more information.