Charlie Mulgrew names ‘magic’ Tommy Burns advice as the best he received at Celtic

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Charlie Mulgrew’s Celtic journey wasn’t a conventional one.

Mulgrew was in the youth system under Gordon Strachan, eventually leaving the club without ever making a first-team appearance.

After thriving at Aberdeen, he made his Celtic return in 2011, becoming Neil Lennon’s first signing as manager of the Hoops. Mulgrew would go on to make over 200 appearances.

Mulgrew has credited his upbringing in the academy for preparing him for his return to the club, where he eventually became vice-captain to Scott Brown.

And a central figure in that upbringing was Hoops icon Tommy Burns, as Mulgrew has been reflecting on.

Charlie Mulgrew on Celtic legend Tommy Burns

After being Celtic manager in the 1990s, Burns returned to Celtic Park as an assistant when Kenny Dalglish took over on an interim basis.

Martin O’Neill retained him on his arrival a few months later, and placed him in charge of youth development.

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Aiden McGeady, Shaun Maloney and John Kennedy are among the players to have worked with Burns during his time with the academy.

Mulgrew, speaking on William Hill’s Warm-Up, named Burns’ advice as the greatest he ever received.

He said: “The first thing that comes is Tommy Burns saying ‘don’t ever take walking into these doors at Celtic Park for granted.’

“At the time, you begin to understand it, every single day, to train at your best. Because you never know when there’s a youngster ready to come and take your place, or whether you ever leave Celtic.

“So Tommy Burns was a great influence, on a lot of people. What a guy, a real funny guy, a real proper human being as well. The way he treated people.

“The subtle wee things he’d say to you, like ‘you’ve got the second best left foot at this club.’ He’d give you a lot of confidence.

“I remember one bad day at Barrowfield, I was having a bad game. He was shouting on the pitch, and you were trying to ignore him, because he could go mad, Tommy, when you got beat.

“I eventually turned around – it was a Saturday morning, and he said ‘Charlie, were you out last night?’ I said, ‘No Tommy, no’ – and he went, ‘You need to start going out on Fridays from now on.’

“So it was just those wee bits of magic. Amazing guy.”

Other Celtic academy graduates who worked with Tommy Burns

Maloney, Mark Fotheringham and Stephen McManus all made their Celtic debuts under O’Neill, and of course, they all make up his coaching staff in his present position as interim manager.

McGeady became the most expensive player ever to leave Scottish football when he joined Spartak Moscow in 2010. He went on to play for Everton, Sunderland and Preston.

Kennedy became an integral part of Celtic’s modern history, working with Lennon, Brendan Rodgers and Ange Postecoglou and amassing an almighty trophy haul.

Burns may have left us prematurely, but his influence is still felt almost everywhere you look at Celtic.