As a boy, I remember Tommy Burns. He was one of Celtic’s most outstanding players but it’s not until you get that bit older that you can really appreciate just how good he was.
Former Celtic defender, John Hughes was recalling his training sessions at Celtic when Tommy was the manager. And shared a brilliant story that shows that even long after his playing days had ended, Burns never lost the skills that made him the magical player that he was.
Hughes told the Off the Record podcast, “The thing about it is that he [Burns] could come on the training pitch and train and be the best player.
“He was brilliant. He was unbelievable. And if the intensity and the standard wasn’t there, he would leave one on somebody and it would kick off.
“Young v old? It would kick off even more. The training was harder than playing in the game. Honestly. And it meant that much to him.”
As a manager, he was one of the best I had seen at Celtic. You have to remember, I was living through the nineties. That period was one of the worst I can remember as a Celtic fan. Then along came Tommy Burns.
The brand of football that he brought to the club was one of the most exciting we had seen in a generation. And his recruitment was excellent too.
Responsible for bringing in The Three Amigos of Paolo di Canio, Jorge Cadete and Pierre van Hooijdonk, the season of 1996/97 was one that many Celtic fans of my age will remember for the incredible football we witnessed under Tommy.
Narrowly missing out on stopping Rangers ten in a row in his second season, Burns did end Celtic’s trophy drought by winning the Scottish Cup in 1995.
Although he never managed to bring the league title home as a manager, Burns’ period as the Celtic manager did herald the return of football being played ‘The Celtic Way’.
In other news, Kyogo Furuhashi named SPFL Premiership Player of the Season
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