Thomas "Tommy" Burns

Tommy Burns , a true son and legend of Glasgow Celtic Football Club.



Career
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Although he started out as a goalkeeper for non-league side Benburb F.C., Burns eventually became a midfielder, and was signed by Celtic in 1973 from his second club Maryhill, a junior team from Glasgow. He made his debut against Dundee United on 19 April 1975, and he was a vital part of the side which won the league and cup double in the club's centenary season, 1988. In total, he made 352 league appearances and scored 52 goals.

The following year, Burns moved to Kilmarnock, where he became player-manager in 1992, winning the club promotion to the Scottish Premier Division in season 1992-93.

He moved to become manager at Celtic at the start of season 1994-95, in acrimonious circumstances as he was still under contract to Kilmarnock as both player and manager. Kilmarnock refused to release him from his contract and the Scottish Football Association subsequently fined Celtic £100,000 for 'tapping', or speaking to Burns without obtaining Kilmarnock's permission. Kilmarnock were also permitted to retain his playing registration, effectively ending his professional career as a player.

At Celtic, his team grew a reputation for playing attractive and attacking football and they won the Scottish Cup in 1995;[1] but Celtic proved unable to break the domination of Old Firm rivals Rangers. Burns was sacked from Celtic in 1997 and went on to work under Kenny Dalglish at Newcastle United. He later moved on to a period of management at Reading.

He became assistant manager of the Scottish national team under Berti Vogts in 2002 and retained the position under Walter Smith. In between, he managed Scotland for one match, a 4-1 friendly defeat to Sweden.[2] He returned to Celtic for a third time when Martin O'Neill placed him in charge of youth development. Upon the arrival of Gordon Strachan as manager in 2005, Burns was appointed First Team Coach, a role he combined with his Youth Development post.

On 18 January 2007, Burns announced through Celtic's official website that he was severing all ties with the Scottish national team to concentrate on his role at the club. It was reported that Burns had found out that he was not a potential candidate for the job of national team coach.[3].



Illness and death
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On 29 March 2006, Celtic confirmed Burns had begun treatment for skin cancer.[4]. On 10 March 2008, Celtic announced that Burns was facing another skin cancer scare, and would be undergoing further treatment for the disease. [5] On 15 May 2008, Burns died at home.[6]


Tributes
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Celtic manager Gordon Strachan was among those those who payed tribute to Burns. A visibly emotional Strachan said "being Tommy's mate was the best part of joining Celtic" and that "There weren't many better than him. But, as a person, he was top of the league when it comes to being a man."[7] Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell said "If you define a Celtic man, it would certainly be Tommy Burns. He was a wonderful human being."[7] Club captain Stephen McManus said "He was courageous and he was probably as brave a man as you'll ever meet."[7]


Playing honours
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[edit] Celtic
Winners
Scottish Premier Division (6) - 1976/77, 1978/79, 1980/81, 1981/82, 1985/86, 1987/88
Scottish Cup (3) - 1979/80, 1984/85, 1987/88
Scottish League Cup (1) - 1982/83



[edit] Celtic
Winners
Scottish Cup (1) - 1994/95
Runners-up
Scottish Premier Division (2) - 1995/96, 1996-97
Scottish League Cup (1) - 1994/95 nd of Glasgow Celtic Football Club .