| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Thomas Burns | ||
| Date of birth | (1956-12-16)16 December 1956 | ||
| Place of birth | Glasgow, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 15 May 2008(2008-05-15) (aged 51) | ||
| Place of death | Glasgow, Scotland | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1970-71 | Eastercraigs Boys Club | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1971–1989 | Celtic | 353 | (52) |
| 1973–1974 | →Maryhill (loan) | ||
| 1989–1994 | Kilmarnock | 151 | (16) |
| Total | 504 | (68) | |
| International career | |||
| 1976–1982 | Scotland U21 | 5 | (0) |
| 1978 | Scottish League XI[1] | 1 | (0) |
| 1981–1988 | Scotland | 8 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1992–1994 | Kilmarnock | ||
| 1994–1997 | Celtic | ||
| 1995–1998 | Scotland B | ||
| 1998–1999 | Reading | ||
| 2002–2007 | Scotland (assistant) | ||
| 2004 | Scotland (caretaker) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Thomas Burns (16 December 1956 – 15 May 2008) was a Scottish professionalfootball player andmanager. He is best known for his long association withCeltic, where he was a player, manager and coach.
Usually amidfielder, Burns played for Celtic from 1975 to 1989 and won sixScottish league championships, fiveScottish Cups, and theScottish League Cup once. He was also aScotland international, winning eight caps between 1981 and 1988.
He finished playing withKilmarnock, where he also began his managerial career. He returned to Celtic as manager in 1994, and won the Scottish Cup in 1995 – the first trophy the club had won in six years. After being sacked by Celtic in 1997 he managedReading from 1998 to 1999. Burns returned to Celtic in 2000, and held positions including assistant manager, head of youth development and first team coach. He was also assistant manager of Scotland from 2002 to 2007.
Burns died ofmelanoma on 15 May 2008, aged 51.
Burns was born in theCalton area ofGlasgow,[2] where he was brought up with his two sisters. He was educated at St Mary's Roman Catholic School and atSt Mungo's Academy.[3]
Burns grew up supportingCeltic and began playing football with St.Mary's Boys Guild. He went on to play for Eastercraigs Boys Club and thenCeltic Boys Club. After receiving offers to go to England to play professionally, he signed for Celtic in 1973, and was then farmed out toMaryhill Juniors in order to gain experience.[3]
Burns made his debut againstDundee United on 19 April 1975 under managerJock Stein,[4] and by the end of the1976–77 (which ended with Celtic as champions) had become a regular in the team. His best personal output was in1983–84 with 13 goals from 55 appearances in all competitions, although Celtic finished as runners-up toAberdeen in both theLeague and theScottish Cup, and lost theLeague Cup final toRangers.
Burns was a vital part of the side managed byBilly McNeill which won theleague and cup double in1987–88, the club's centenary season,[5] participating in 37 matches in the campaign. In total, he made 353 league appearances for Celtic over 15 years and scored 52 goals, won six Scottish League titles and fourScottish Cups. In December 1989, just prior to his 33rd birthday, he received atestimonial match againstAjax in which he threw his boots to the crowd atCeltic Park.[2] The club would later officially describe him as "a true Celtic legend"[5] while the player himself stated that he was merely "a supporter who got lucky".[2]
Immediately following his testimonial, Burns moved to third-tierKilmarnock[4] for a fee of £50,000,[5] and in hisfirst season inEast Ayrshire helped the club achieve promotion. In1990–91 'Killie' consolidated their status in the division with Burns playing a pivotal role (37 appearances, all as a starter, with 8 goals).
Burns becameplayer-manager of Kilmarnock in April 1992, replacingJim Fleeting for the final few games ofthe season. In1992–93, his first full campaign in charge, theRugby Park club won promotion to theScottish Premier Division[5] after a ten-year absence, with Burns also playing in 39 league fixtures during the season. He then featured in a dozen top-flight matches to help Kilmarnockavoid relegation, with his penultimate career appearance at the age of 37 being a 1–0 home win over Rangers which was also the last match prior to the stadium's redevelopment.[6]
Burns moved to become manager of Celtic (replacingLou Macari) at the start of the1994–95 season in acrimonious circumstances, as he was still under contract to Kilmarnock as both player and manager. Kilmarnock refused to release him from his contract[7] and theScottish Football Association subsequently fined Celtic £100,000 for 'tapping', or speaking to Burns without obtaining his current club'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 in1995;[8][9] but Celtic proved unable to break the domination ofOld Firm rivalsRangers. Burns signed players likePierre Van Hooijdonk,Paolo Di Canio andJorge Cadete, and while the Celtic team lost just one game in the league during the1995–96 season, they were unable to beat the Rangers team managed byWalter Smith.[4] Burns commented that "Andy Goram [the Rangers goalkeeper] broke my heart" would be on his tombstone.[10] After losing aScottish Cup semi-final toFalkirk in 1997, Burns was sacked from Celtic by chairmanFergus McCann[4] and went on to work under former Celtic colleagueKenny Dalglish atNewcastle United as a coach.
On 25 March 1998, Burns was appointed manager ofReading, who were struggling inDivision One in what was their final season atElm Park before the relocation toMadejski Stadium and would eventually finish in last place. He had been approached about the Reading manager's job the previous summer, but rejected it in favour of a coaching role under Dalglish.[11]
Burns remained in this position until 16 September 1999, when he was dismissed following a poor sequence of results, after Reading's failure to win promotion fromDivision Two theprevious year.[12] He left an impression on some of the club's personnel, including future club captainGraeme Murty[13] and youth coachBrendan Rodgers who later also managed Celtic.[14]
In 2000, Burns returned to Celtic as assistant manager duringKenny Dalglish's short-lived tenure as manager. That summer,Martin O'Neill took over as the club's manager and brought in his own coaching staff, but retained Burns and placed him in charge ofyouth development. Upon the arrival ofGordon Strachan as manager in 2005, Burns was appointed first team coach, a role he combined with his youth development post. He is credited with guiding several young players who became internationals, includingShaun MaloneyStephen McManus,Aiden McGeady andJohn Kennedy and for his input into the design of the club'sLennoxtown training centre which opened in 2007.[4][2]
Burns was appointed assistant manager of theScottish national team underBerti Vogts in 2002 and retained the position under Walter Smith.[4] In between, he managed Scotland for one match, a 4–1 friendly defeat toSweden.[15]
On 18 January 2007, Burns announced through the Celtic website that he was severing all ties with the Scottish national team to concentrate on his role at the club. It was reported byThe Scotsman newspaper that Burns had found out that he was not a potential candidate for the job of national team coach, which had become available after Walter Smith moved to Rangers.[16]
Burns met his wife Rosemary Smith when they were both 17, and they married in 1980. The couple had four children. A devout Roman Catholic, Burns attended Mass and took Communion every morning. Burns said of his faith: "It does not embarrass me to discuss my Faith in public because I'm not doing so to impress anyone or to have people think of me as what would be called a goody-goody. I turn to God at every opportunity because I am not different from anybody else and because I accept that I am sufficiently frail to need His help and guidance more than most."[17][18][19]
On 29 March 2006, Celtic confirmed Burns had begun treatment formelanomaskin cancer.[20] On 10 March 2008, Celtic announced that he was facing another skin cancer scare, and would be undergoing further treatment for the disease.[21] On 15 May 2008, Burns died at home.[22][5]
Burns's funeral mass was celebrated atSt Mary's, Abercromby Street (the church in whose hall was held the inaugural meeting of what was to become Celtic FC) in his nativeCalton on 20 May 2008 followed by interment at Linn Cemetery,Castlemilk.
Celtic managerGordon Strachan was among 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 as a footballer. But, as a person, he was top of the league when it comes to being a man."[23] Celtic chief executivePeter Lawwell said "If you define a Celtic man, it would certainly be Tommy Burns. He was a wonderful human being."[23] ClubcaptainStephen McManus said "He was courageous and he was probably as brave a man as you'll ever meet."[23]
Rangers assistant managerAlly McCoist, who had worked with Burns in his role for the Scotland national team, said "I have met a lot of good people through football but Tam was the very best."[24] On 16 May, Rangers managerWalter Smith and McCoist arrived atCeltic 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's funeral.[25]
In 2010, a bronzereliefmemorial plaque for Burns was unveiled at the main stand of Celtic Park, depicting his trademark 'clasped hands' goal celebration as a player, lifting the Scottish Cup as manager and working as a youth coach, also referencing his local church.[26]
TheHeriot Watt andEdinburgh University Celtic Supporters Club (HWEUCSC), holds an annual charity dinner, the 'Tommy Burns Supper', a parody of the traditional (Robert)Burns supper. The event was first held in 1987 and, becoming increasingly popular, was attended regularly by Burns as well as celebrities from sports and entertainment.[27] HWEUCSC retired the Supper after Burns died, but it was revived in 2017 and held at Celtic Park, in collaboration with the club.[28] It has since become an annual fixture once again, returning to its original home in Teviot Row House.
| Club | Division | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Other[N 1] | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | |||
| Celtic[29] | Scottish Division One | 1974–75 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Scottish Premier Division | 1975–76 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1976–77 | 19 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1[N 2] | 0 | 29 | 1 | ||
| 1977–78 | 25 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 3[N 3] | 1[N 3] | 37 | 6 | ||
| 1978–79 | 29 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 4 | ||
| 1979–80 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[N 4] | 1[N 4] | 19 | 1 | ||
| 1980–81 | 33 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 3[N 5] | 0 | 48 | 11 | ||
| 1981–82 | 33 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2[N 6] | 0 | 43 | 9 | ||
| 1982–83 | 17 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 2[N 7] | 0 | 28 | 10 | ||
| 1983–84 | 33 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 6[N 8] | 1[N 8] | 55 | 13 | ||
| 1984–85 | 27 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4[N 9] | 1[N 9] | 40 | 10 | ||
| 1985–86 | 34 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2[N 10] | 0 | 42 | 6 | ||
| 1986–87 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3[N 11] | 0 | 22 | 0 | ||
| 1987–88 | 27 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2[N 12] | 0 | 37 | 4 | ||
| 1988–89 | 32 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3[N 13] | 0 | 43 | 7 | ||
| 1989–90 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1[N 14] | 0 | 12 | 1 | ||
| Total | 353 | 52 | 43 | 12 | 70 | 15 | 35 | 4 | 501 | 83 | ||
| Kilmarnock[30] | Scottish Second Division | 1989–90 | 22 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 3 |
| Scottish First Division | 1990–91 | 37 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4[N 15] | 1[N 15] | 45 | 10 | |
| 1991–92 | 41 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[N 16] | 0 | 45 | 3 | ||
| 1992–93 | 39 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2[N 17] | 1[N 17] | 47 | 5 | ||
| Scottish Premier Division | 1993–94 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | |
| Total | 151 | 16 | 10 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 174 | 21 | ||
| Career total | 504 | 68 | 53 | 13 | 76 | 17 | 42 | 6 | 675 | 104 | ||
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Kilmarnock[31][N 1] |  | April 1992 | July 1994 | 109 | 46 | 31 | 32 | 042.20 |
| Celtic[32] | | July 1994 | May 1997 | 140 | 78 | 39 | 23 | 055.71 |
| Scotland B[33] | | October 1995 | April 1998 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 050.00 |
| Reading[34] |  | March 1998 | September 1999 | 68 | 20 | 18 | 30 | 029.41 |
| Total | 317 | 144 | 88 | 85 | 045.43 | |||
Celtic
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock
Celtic
Celtic
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |