Everything about Tommy Burns Footballer totally explained
| position =
Midfielder
| youthyears =
| youthclubs =
Maryhill
| years = 1975–1989
1989–1994
| clubs =
CelticKilmarnockTotal
| caps(goals) = 352
Thomas "Tommy" Burns (
16 December 1956 –
15 May 2008) was a
Scottish professional
football player and manager. He was also a
Scotland international, winning eight caps while a
Celtic player. In 2006 he was diagnosed with
skin cancer which, despite a brief recovery, he succumbed to on May 15, 2008.
Career
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.
Burns 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; 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. 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 wasn't a potential candidate for the job of national team coach..
Illness and death
On
29 March,
2006, Celtic confirmed Burns had begun treatment for
melanoma skin cancer.. On
10 March 2008, Celtic announced that Burns was facing another skin cancer scare, and would be undergoing further treatment for the disease. On
15 May 2008, Burns died at home.
The funeral was held at Glasgow's St Mary's Church on
20 May 2008.
Tributes
Celtic manager
Gordon Strachan was among those those who paid 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." Celtic chief executive
Peter Lawwell said "If you define a Celtic man, it would certainly be Tommy Burns. He was a wonderful human being."
On
16 May Rangers manager
Walter Smith and McCoist arrived at
Celtic Park to lay a wreath in memory of Burns, and then spent half an hour in the stadium, speaking with Celtic officials, then another half hour outside speaking to fans. Smith and McCoist also served as pallbearers at Burns' funeral.
Playing honours
Celtic
Managerial honours
Kilmarnock
Promotion From Scottish First Division - 1992/93
Celtic
Winners
Runners-up
Further Information
Get more info on 'Tommy Burns Footballer'.
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