EDDIE Howe has paid a poignant tribute to Emma Bailey, the wife of former Cherries star John Bailey, who lost her battle with cancer, aged just 40.

Howe and a host of ex-Cherries players will come together in memory of the mother of three during a star-studded charity match in New Milton on Sunday.

The friendly at Fawcett’s Field between a team of Cherries legends and a New Milton XI will raise funds for Cancer Research UK and Oakhaven Hospice.

Emma, who had been diagnosed with skin cancer in 2012, spent a week in Oakhaven in September before she passed away at the family home near Sway on New Year’s Eve.

John Bailey, who scored for Cherries in the final of the Auto Windscreens Shield in 1998, is set to reunite with a number of his Wembley team-mates, including Howe, Jimmy Glass, Jamie Vincent, Ian Cox, Steve Fletcher, Jason Brissett and Christer Warren.

A number of Howe’s backroom staff will also line up for a Cherries team which will be jointly managed by John ‘Willo’ Williams and Richard Cooke.

Cherries boss Howe, whose mother Anne died suddenly following a short illness in 2012, told the Daily Echo: “When you are playing and in your early 20s, you don’t see the future and don’t see what may happen to your loved ones. You just enjoy playing football.

“As you get older, you see life in a more honest way and see there are tragedies around us all the time.

“People lose loved ones and it is about coming together when it happens and trying to help people when they need it.

“John was a really good player to play alongside and a really good team-mate.

“Emma was a lovely person as well, a really beautiful human being.

“When she was diagnosed with the illness, we felt desperately sorry for John and wanted to help him and his family in any way we could. It is such a tragic loss for them.

“I would only dust off my boots for a very good cause and had no hesitation when I was asked.

“We are raising money for good causes so, hopefully, we can get as many people there as possible.”

Tickets, priced at £5, are not available on the day and must be pre-purchased from Fawcett’s Field, the New Milton Town FC Facebook page or In Off The Far Post on Christchurch Road in Pokesdown.

Gates open at 11am and the match kicks-off at 1pm. Food and refreshments will be on sale, while there will be an auction and a raffle.