Coach Brenton Sanderson says the Crows will aim to show courage and forge ahead with Season 2014 out of respect for friend and colleague Dean Bailey.

Bailey, 47, passed away in hospital early on Tuesday morning after a three-month battle with an aggressive form of cancer.

An experienced coach and player, Bailey joined Adelaide’s coaching panel at the same time as Sanderson in late 2011. He quickly established himself as a mentor to both the playing and coaching groups, earning respect for his football nous and building friendships through his ability to relate to others and his trademark dry sense of humour.

Sanderson described Adelaide as “a football club in mourning”.

“It’s something that you can never really prepare yourself for. Our thoughts today are with the Bailey family; Caron, Mitch and Darcy. We send them our love and condolences,” Sanderson said.

“Dean was an incredible person. He was a fantastic mentor for me, as he was for the entire coaching group. I had such a close relationship with him. I’ve known him since 2006. I’ve coached against him, and most importantly I’ve coached alongside him.

“His impact with our playing group over the last two-and-a-half years is hard to measure. He was just such a great teacher and educator. He understood the game and had the great ability to be able to develop relationships with players and get the best out of them. He was always able to get a laugh out of the players. I hope he’s remembered for his commitment to the game and what he gave to so many players and coaches.

“He’s a great mate and I’ll miss him dearly. I’ve got some great memories of Bails and I feel at peace now that he’s no longer in pain.”

The Adelaide Football Club has put significant support networks in place to help the Bailey family, Crows players, coaches and staff through the grieving process.

Sanderson said it would be a difficult time for everyone involved with Adelaide, but that it was important the Crows tried to grant Bailey’s wish, which was for the Club to taste success.

“We all handle grief very differently. It’ll be a very sensitive couple of days of us but we’ll certainly forge ahead with the courage Dean would’ve wanted us to,” he said.

“Try to be gentle with us for a few days, but we’ll certainly be ready for Round One. I hope no one takes it easy on us when we get to the start of the season, but it’s going to be a tough couple of days.”

Bailey was diagnosed with cancer in November. He underwent intensive treatment, but it was unable to stop the spread of the disease.

“We started pre-season training in early-November and Dean was on the track then. He was even at some training sessions through January,” Sanderson said.

“This cancer was incredibly aggressive and, unfortunately, only three months after being diagnosed Dean has lost his battle.

“His courage was just incredible. He just kept fighting and we can all learn from that.”

Tributes flowed from across the country for Bailey on Tuesday.

Crows CEO Steven Trigg said the Club would explore ways to honour Bailey’s memory.

“We have a few ideas, but it’s just a bit early for that. We will want to engage our members and supporters who will want to show their respect in some shape or form … and at some point in time, there will be a chance for people to celebrate Dean’s life,” Trigg said.

“This is from Dean himself … this is not a tribute or memorial year for our Club. The theme for us, as he would want, is about the sense of responsibility that is to pick up a rope that he can’t pick up anymore and to be as successful as we possibly can be. That’s about preparing the best we can, learning as much as we can and doing it all with a wonderful sense of humour.

“That’s the sense of responsibility we have.”