Burns had most recently worked as Celtic’s head of youth development, as well as maintaining a role on Gordon Strachan’s first-team coaching staff.

He was a committed Celtic man and spent more than 20 years with the club over three separate spells.

He also held a part-time role as Scotland assistant manager from March 2002 until January 2007, working under managers Berti Vogts and Walter Smith.

Burns dearly wanted to succeed Smith, who quit to rejoin Rangers, but was overlooked by Scottish Football Association and abandoned his national team role when it became clear he was not a candidate for the top job.

Burns had admirers and many friends on both sides of the Old Firm divide, and throughout Scottish football.
 
Rangers assistant manager Ally McCoist knew Burns for 25 years and described him recently as “an absolute gentleman”.

Adding: “You would never hear anybody in football say a bad word about Tommy Burns

“To have been involved in football for so long, that’s quite an accolade.”

He was first diagnosed with cancer in 2006, and appeared to have beaten the disease. But Celtic announced in March of this year that Burns was again being treated,

As a creative midfielder, Burns won eight caps for Scotland, seven of which came from 1981 to 1983.

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