HE divided his time between his twin football passions - Saints and German side Borussia Munchengladbach. So it will be a fitting tribute when football fan Kevin Nicholson is laid to rest wearing kit of the both his favourite teams.

Friends, family and Southampton Football Club have all paid tribute to the man known as Big Kev, who died suddenly at work at the age of just 40.

Kevin first went to see a Saints game at The Dell when he was six, and for the past ten years rarely miss-ed a home game. But because of his German mother Marlies and time spent in Germany because of his dad Nick's career with the Army, Kevin also supported Bundesliga 2 team Borussia Munchengladbach.

Fittingly for a man who used to spend half his time watching Saints in Southampton and the other half flying to Germany to watch Munchenglad-bach, Kevin will be cremated next week dressed in the team colours of both his clubs.

Dad Nick said: "Kev loved football and never missed a Saints home game. I remember he and his friends used to queue up all night outside The Dell just to get tickets for the next day's game. I first took him there when he was six. He was such an avid fan of the club - whenever they would lose I always used to get a scathing text off him criticising what he thought went wrong."

Nick said his son's health was like a ticking time bomb in the run-up to his death. Narrowing arteries had left him susceptible to a heart attack, which eventually claimed his life while he was working as a senior salesman for Southern Brick and Tile Company in Southampton.

He spent much of his early years living in Herford in Germany, where his father was stationed and where his mum grew up, before the family moved back to Park Gate near Fareham in 1984.

Nick added: "Kev was a private person, but he was so well liked. We are only now just beginning to realise how many friends he had and they are proving a great comfort for us."

A spokesman for Southampton Football Club said: "It is always sad to hear that the club has lost a committed fan and we would like to thank Kevin for his support and offer our condolences to his family."

A funeral service will be held on Thursday, November 29 at 1pm at St Barnabas Church in Swanmore.