Tomorrow is going to be a tear-stained day for Celtic fans as Tommy Burns funeral takes place bringing the area around Celtic Park to a standstill.
Celtic without Tommy will be a strange place, he hasn’t been high profile for a number of years but it’s always been comforting to know that he was hard at work with the club he loved.
Every now and then there would be a reference to him from a first-team player, he’d be involved in the dug-out or seen celebrating wildly at a victory.
I first saw Tommy playing in the Eastercraigs Tournament at Celtic Park, soon he was in the reserves and breaking through to the first team at the same time as Roy Aitken.
Tommy played a part in the 76/77 double winning side, missed out on the famous 4-2 league decider in 1979 but really came into his own from 1980-1982.
The left side of midfield was his beat as he introduced us to the double-shuffle and other tricks that left defenders chasing shadows as Frank McGarvey, George McCluskey and Charlie Nicholas bagged the goals.
Throughout the 80’s Burns was a fantastic player with the added edge of being a lifelong fan appreciating the honour of wearing the hoops and playing for the supporters he identified with.
Victory against the odds in 85 against Dundee United in the Scottish Cup Final was followed by the equally memorable and unforgettable title win at Love Street. More than most players TB appreciated and savoured the very Celtic nature of those successes.
The Centenary double winning season saw Burns a pivotal figure as a new Celtic side emerged from the shadow of Souness to be champions again. Alongside Paul McStay, Peter Grant and Aitken, Burns helped bring out the best in Andy Walker, Frank McAvennie, Joe Miller and others as the club’s Centenary was celebrated in style.
One more Scottish Cup success was to come Burns way, a 1-0 win over Rangers in 89, before he left for Kilmarnock then returning as Celtic manager.
The Celtic that Burns inherited was a shadow of the club that he had played for but despite a season in exile at Hampden and the gutting defeat to Raith Rovers in the Coca Cola Cup Burns finally broke a six year trophy drought by winning the 95 Scottish Cup Final against Airdrie.
That Hampden season is best forgotten but with a new look Celtic Park rising up so to did a new team full of excitement, goals and skill, the ingredients Burns knew were essential to any Celtic side.
No tangible success was to follow but with The Three Amigos of Pierre van Hoojidonk, Jorge Cadete and Paolo di Canio around demand to watch Celtic went through the roof whilst most of us wondered about the wisdom of building a 60,000 seater stadium.
Burns the manager left Celtic as Rangers prepared to make it 9-in-a-row but no-one would have cheered louder when Wim Jansen’s side stopped the 10 to the relief and delight of every Celtic fan.
Spells at Newcastle and managing Reading never seemed quite right for Burns who returned to Celtic in the aftermath of the John Barnes fiasco.
As Celtic celebrated a fairly worthless CIS Cup win over Aberdeen in 2000 the fans chanted for Burns above all others as silverware returned to Celtic Park.
Under Martin O’Neill and Gordon Strachan Burns has been a key member of staff with Strachan adding his former adversary to the first team coaching staff as well as retaining his role alongside Willie McStay as head of Youth Development.
Cancer struck in 2006 but TB bounced back to enjoy back-to-back titles alongside Strachan before cancer returned again in the spring of this year.
Losing a man of Burns calibre has been a horrible blow to Celtic but the team has battled on with Neil Lennon returning to the dug-out to continue Burns work.
Horribly last Thursday the news we hoped that we’d never hear was announced, Tommy Burns had died in the early hours of the morning.
Since then the legend of TB has grown, a tearful Gordon Strachan spoke to the media on Thursday of how we had visited Burns on the Wednesday before he had died, how Burns had talked football and wished Strachan all the best knowing that his death was around the corner.
Peter Lawwell spoke of his last phone call with Burns of how it was business as usual as Burns continued his work on nurturing the next generation of McGeady’s and McManus’s.
He’ll never ever be forgotten by Celtic supporters but sadly a family has lost a husband, father and grandfather, that’s where our sympathies should be.
We were lucky to know TB the Celt, but how painful must it be to have a man of that character and strength taken from your family at the age of 51?
Rest in Peace TB, we’re all the poorer without your presence.
