Former Hull City boss Phil Brown has said the club and football authorities need to offer support to Dean Windass after his stage two dementia diagnosis.

Windass, now 55, made more than 700 appearances across a 19-year career in professional football and scored more than 230 goals.

He netted the goal that helped Brown's Tigers side beat Bristol City in the 2008 Championship play-off final to secure a first-ever promotion to the top flight.

"Whatever I can do to help Dean I will," Brown told BBC Radio Humberside.

"He personified the word 'commitment' and had a great career. My message to people is to keep on supporting him.

"I think he's got to have the support of the football club. They've got to get behind him."

Striker Windass began his professional career with the Tigers, spending eight seasons with the club across two spells.

He made 271 appearances for the club, more than he made for any other team in a career that also featured spells with Aberdeen, Bradford City and Middlesbrough among others.

Brown added: "I spoke with Dean after it [the diagnosis] was brought to my attention last Thursday.

"He's still got that wit that was the life and soul of the changing room. You had to get up early to outwit him.

"We spoke about Dean's life and who is around. I think there are still quite a few from the team that went up to the Premier League in 2008 that are in contact with him.

"We had a good changing room and we looked after each other. Just because you're not there any more doesn't mean you stop looking after one another."

Former Manchester United and Blackburn defender David May announced Windass' diagnosis on BBC Breakfast, confirming he had been given permission by the ex-forward to do so.

May is among a group of ex-footballers and families of ex-players backing a campaign to provide more support for former players affected by neurodegenerative disease.

The Football Families for Justice (FFJ) campaign is also working with Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram, the Mayor of the Liverpool City Region.

Brown believes further research needs to be done by the sport's governing bodies and the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) to find out more and aid players affected.

"It can only be a directive from the hierarchies... they need to get their heads around a table and try to figure out what is going on," Brown said.

"Could I ever see the game of football non-contact and below head height? Never in a million years.

"We're not saying that we want to change the style of the game but if there is compensation that needs to be paid out, it needs to be investigated and the PFA needs to be investigating because it is their members who are suffering and need looking after."

BBC Sport has approached both Hull City and the PFA for comment.

Brown, who left the Tigers in March 2010 after three years in charge, is now manager of National League North side Kidderminster Harriers.

He admitted that hearing one of his former players had been diagnosed with dementia had made him think about his own coaching sessions.

"You always wonder if you're responsible, you always wonder if you have done something wrong regards the training schedules," the 65-year-old said.

"Was there too much heading of the ball?

"But try and stop Dean Windass heading a ball? Not a chance. Try and stop him doing a finishing session and getting on the end of crosses.

"Dean was committed to everything, whether it was the ball coming out of the sky with snow on it or a whipped-in cross... He would put his body on the line."