manager: tommy was my best signing
David Friel
GORDON STRACHAN has made numerous signings since becoming Celtic manager in the summer of 2005. He maintains his best was Tommy Burns.
Opponents and international team-mates as players, one of the first things the manager did upon arriving at Celtic was to invite Tommy into his coaching set-up.
Already in place as the club’s Head of Youth, the new Hoops boss felt that Tommy’s personality, warmth and coaching experience would be of immense benefit to the new first-team squad he was building. It was an inspired decision.
“Of all the signings I’ve made, the most important thing I did when I came to Celtic was bring Tommy into the coaching team,” said an emotional Celtic manager.
“Through his intelligence, common sense and humour, he made me understand what Glasgow was all about. Without him, I would have gone off my head! Tommy kept me sane at times.
“It was just a privilege to be in his company every day. I worked with him every day, laughed and joked with him, and it’s been like that for three years. That’s why the loss has hit us so hard.
“I came to Celtic three years ago and it’s been a fantastic journey. But the best part of it is being able to call Tommy Burns a friend for the last three years.
“No disrespect to the football, but being Tommy’s mate for three years has been the best part of coming to this club.
“We’re talking about legends here, but I’ve always said that people won’t just be judged as a footballer – and there weren’t many better than Tommy – but as a person. He’s top of the league when it comes to being a man.
“I think there’s a difference between legendary footballers, and legendary men. I know what I would like to be remembered as.”
Football-wise, Tommy played a pivotal role in successive league titles and European glory for Celtic. Off the pitch, he was a massively influential figure at both Celtic Park and Lennoxtown.
There was always laughter when Tommy was around. When things weren’t going so well on the pitch, he would be the one to lift the manager’s spirits.
“I’m always asked about the highlights of my career, and I always say that I judge them on how much I laughed,” said the Celtic boss.
“There is absolutely no doubt about it… I have laughed every single day since I’ve been at Celtic. Over the next few days, we will find some Tommy stories that we will laugh at.
“He made me feel good when he was alive, and his memory will make me feel good now that he’s gone.
“Tommy radiated. Whenever he walked into a room, it didn’t matter how you were feeling. When Tommy was about, you felt better. We’ve missed him about the place, because it’s not the same when he’s not there.
“We talked about our games against each other a lot, in fact we were speaking about it yesterday. We were talking about the game at Celtic Park in the 1980s when I got attacked on the pitch.
“I said to Tommy…’I knew you were slow, but I didn’t know you were that slow’. He could have been a bit quicker that day.
“Tommy wasn’t one for going on about what he did in football. He was too busy helping other people.
“Tommy liked people enjoying themselves, that’s for sure. The only thing he got a little bit tetchy about was when he was singing ‘Mack the Knife’ and someone joined in.
“That was a solo for Tommy but I didn’t know that and joined in the first time. I was soon told that I wasn’t meant to do that. It was his song and he was a good singer.”
The Celtic manager made an emotional visit to Tommy’s home on Wednesday afternoon and admits he was astonished by the strength shown by his friend and colleague.
He added: “Even yesterday, when I went to visit him, his faith was incredible. All he was interested in was Rosemary and the kids, and that I was alright.
“He wasn’t thinking about himself, which was absolutely incredible. And being Tommy, we still managed to have a laugh, just hours before he passed away.
“When I was leaving, I gave him a hug and said if you’d told Celtic and Aberdeen fans 30 years ago that we’d be having a hug on his bed, they wouldn’t have believed it.
“That’s just the type of man Tommy was. You could go from kicking lumps out of each other on the pitch to being friends, and I miss him as badly as I’ve ever missed anyone.
“I’m not thinking about football just now – it’s a long second. His faith yesterday was all about making sure his family was strong. That’s the last thing he did.
“We’ll have a few days thinking about Tommy. We’ll train on Friday, but we’ll be thinking about Tommy…everyone will be. We’ll all know how lucky we’ve been to know Tommy Burns.”
