Claudio Ranieri revealed on Monday he had been "terribly shaken" by the death of Leicester City boss Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.
Ranieri, 66, was hired by Vichai in 2015 and led Leicester to their historic Premier League title success the following year.
Billionaire Vichai, 60, died along with four others when his helicopter plummeted into a car park outside the King Power stadium shortly after his side's 1-1 draw with West Ham on Saturday.
"I was terribly shaken by the news," Ranieri told Sky Sport Italia in his first public reaction since the tragedy.
"He was a good man and always had a positive word for everyone. His positivity and ability to make everybody love him was clear for all to see. He came into the locker room only to dispense kind words, never to reproach you.
"One time soon after my birthday, he arrived in the locker room with a huge cake and made everyone sing 'Happy Birthday.'
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