Tommy Burns has died after losing his long-running battle with cancer, Celtic said today. He was 51.

The club's first-team coach originally contracted skin cancer in 2006. Although he received treatment, the disease returned in March.

The former Scotland international, who spent 15 years as a player at Parkhead and also managed the club for three seasons, had been undergoing treatment in both Glasgow and France in recent weeks.

A statement from Celtic said: "It is with great sadness that Celtic Football Club confirmed this morning that Tommy Burns has passed away.

"Tommy, a true Celtic legend and wonderful man will be sadly missed by us all.

"Clearly, our thoughts are very much with Tommy's wife Rosemary and his family at this extremely difficult time."

Burns joined Celtic as a teenager in 1973 and went on to play 352 league games for the club, scoring 52 goals, and winning eight Scotland caps.

In 1989, he moved to Kilmarnock and was given his first job in management there three years later. He left to take the Celtic reins in 1994 but was sacked in 1997.

A short spell as boss of Reading followed before Burns became Scotland number two in 2002 under Berti Vogts and later Walter Smith.

He returned to Celtic as first-team coach shortly before Martin O'Neill's arrival, a position he retained when Gordon Strachan became manager.

He is survived by his wife of 28 years, Rosemary, and four children.