Celtic legend Tommy Burns dies
It was announced last month that Burns, 51, who was first diagnosed with skin cancer in 2006, was facing a new battle against the disease. He was an ex-manager of the Parkhead club and had also been a long-serving player. He was also assistant to former Scotland managers Berti Vogts and Walter Smith.
In a statement the club said: "It is with great sadness that Celtic Football Club confirmed this morning that Tommy Burns has passed away.
"Tommy, a true Celtic legend and wonderful man will be sadly missed by us all. "Clearly, our thoughts are very much with Tommy's wife Rosemary and his family at this extremely difficult time."
The club said he died this morning at home. Glasgow-born Burns spent the bulk of his career at Celtic, joining the club as a teenage player before leaving in 1989, aged 32, to join Kilmarnock where he later became the club's player-manager. Burns returned to Celtic in 1994 as Lou Macari's successor in the manager's seat.
He was sacked in 1997 and later had an 18-month spell as manager of Reading. His next job was with the Celtic youth academy and in 2002 he also took on a part-time role with Scotland under Vogts. He remained in the role as assistant to Walter Smith, who was appointed after the German's unsuccessful time in charge was ended. Scottish football rallied around the coach during Burns' first cancer scare, which kept him out of the game for part of a championship-winning season at Celtic.
He underwent surgery to remove two lumps from his leg in May 2006, before returning to the Celtic dug-out. At the time, Burns talked of the possibility of the cancer returning. He also expressed the hope that his case might make people take action against the growing problem of skin cancer. Burns said at the time: "Men in general don't really examine their bodies, their moles and marks, especially in the west of Scotland – not that we get that much sun anyway."
With a distinguished career in football spanning more than 30 years, Burns was highly respected, both on and off the pitch. You would never hear anybody in football say a bad word about Tommy Burns, and to have been involved in football for so long, that's quite an accolade Ally McCoist Described as an "absolute gentleman", he was a devoted family man who fought his battle with cancer with the same gritty determination which characterised his football career.
He made a total of 352 league appearances for Celtic, scoring 52 goals. Burns also represented his country, gaining eight caps for Scotland. He was born in the east end of Glasgow in 1956, just a short distance from Parkhead. He first joined Celtic as a teenager, having started his career with the city's Maryhill Juniors. He was an influential member of the Celtic side that won the Scottish Premier Division championship and Scottish Cup in 1988 – the club's centenary year. The following year, Burns left Celtic at the age of 32 to join Kilmarnock.
He later became the club's player-manager before returning to Celtic as manager in 1994, replacing Lou Macari. Burns' time in charge saw the Hoops end a six-year trophy famine, by winning the Scottish Cup against Airdrie at Hampden in 1995. However during Burns' time at the helm the club failed to prevent Rangers winning the title in 1996 and lost to their Old Firm rivals in both cup competitions.
In April 1997 Celtic lost the Tennent's Scottish Cup semi-final replay 1-0 to first division Falkirk. Burns later said he had considered quitting, but decided against it after being persuaded by a long-time friend and Celtic fan. The following month, Burns was sacked by the club.
He headed south to Newcastle where he took up the role as assistant manager, working alongside fellow Scot Kenny Dalglish. A brief spell as manager of Reading followed, but he was sacked after a poor run of results. Keen to nurture young talent, Burns took over as Celtic's youth development manager after the appointment of Martin O'Neill as manager.
In March 2002, he combined his Celtic job with an international role as assistant to Scotland manager Berti Vogts' on a part-time basis.
He remained in the role as assistant to Walter Smith after Vogts' was sacked and in 2005 returned once again to Celtic as first-team coach after Gordon Strachan took over from Martin O'Neill.
The following year it was confirmed Burns was undergoing treatment for skin cancer after he was diagnosed as suffering from a melanoma. In May 2006 he was given the all-clear by doctors after having two lumps removed from his leg, before returning to the Celtic dug-out. Scottish football rallied around the coach during the first scare, which kept him out of football for part of a championship-winning season at Celtic.
At the time, Burns had talked of the possibility of the cancer returning. "If it comes back again then you will have to deal with that," he said. "My friends and family will help me with that." He also expressed the hope that his case might make people more aware of the growing problem of skin cancer. "Men in general don't really examine their bodies, their moles and marks, especially in the west of Scotland – not that we get that much sun anyway."
At the beginning of January 2007, eight days after Smith quit as Scotland manager, Burns resigned from his Scotland role. He had been tipped as a potential successor to Smith. In March 2008 the club confirmed Burns was to begin receiving treatment after skin cancer returned. Rangers assistant boss Ally McCoist, who had known Burns for more than 20 years, said at the time: "You always say things like 'why does this happen to the good guys?' That's certainly the case because Tommy Burns is an absolute gentleman.
"You would never hear anybody in football say a bad word about Tommy Burns, and to have been involved in football for so long, that's quite an accolade. "He's a smashing man, he's a very strong man, he's got a lovely family and we at this football club just wish him all the very, very best."
Burns and his wife Rosemary were married for 28 years and the couple had four grown-up children. His daughter recently gave birth to his first grandchild.