Celtic legend and former Scotland international Tommy Burns died this morning after a battle with cancer.

It was announced last month that Burns, 51, who was first diagnosed with skin cancer in 2006, was facing a new battle against the disease.

He was an ex-manager of the Parkhead club and had also been a long-serving player.

Burns was also assistant to former Scotland managers Berti Vogts and Walter Smith.

In a statement the club 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."

The club said he died this morning at home.

Glasgow-born Burns spent the bulk of his career at Celtic, joining the club as a teenage player before leaving in 1989, aged 32, to join Kilmarnock where he later became the club's player-manager.

Burns returned to Celtic in 1994 as Lou Macari's successor in the manager's seat.

He was sacked in 1997 and later had an 18-month spell as manager of Reading.

His next job was with the Celtic youth academy and in 2002 he also took on a part-time role with Scotland under Vogts.

He remained in the role as assistant to Walter Smith, who was appointed after the German's unsuccessful time in charge was ended.

Scottish football rallied around the coach during Burns' first cancer scare, which kept him out of the game for part of a championship-winning season at Celtic.

He underwent surgery to remove two lumps from his leg in May 2006, before returning to the Celtic dug-out.

At the time, Burns talked of the possibility of the cancer returning.

He also expressed the hope that his case might make people take action against the growing problem of skin cancer.

Burns said at the time: "Men in general don't really examine their bodies, their moles and marks, especially in the west of Scotland - not that we get that much sun anyway."

With a distinguished career in football spanning more than 30 years, Burns was highly respected, both on and off the pitch.

Described as an "absolute gentleman", he was a devoted family man who fought his battle with cancer with the same gritty determination which characterised his football career.

He made a total of 352 league appearances for Celtic, scoring 52 goals.

Burns also represented his country, gaining eight caps for Scotland.

He was born in the east end of Glasgow in 1956, just a short distance from Parkhead.

He first joined Celtic as a teenager, having started his career with the city's Maryhill Juniors.

He was an influential member of the Celtic side that won the Scottish Premier Division championship and Scottish Cup in 1988 - the club's centenary year.

After his spell with Kilmarnock he returned to Parkhead 14 years ago as manager.

His time in charge saw the Hoops end a six-year trophy famine, by winning the Scottish Cup against Airdrie at Hampden in 1995.

However the club failed to prevent Rangers winning the title in 1996 and lost to their Old Firm rivals in both cup competitions.

In April 1997 Celtic lost the Tennent's Scottish Cup semi-final replay 1-0 to first division Falkirk.

Burns later said he had considered quitting, but decided against it after being persuaded by a long-time friend and Celtic fan.

The following month, Burns was sacked by the club.

He headed south to Newcastle where he took up the role as assistant manager, working alongside Kenny Dalglish.

The brief spell as manager of Reading followed, but he was sacked after a poor run of results.

Keen to nurture young talent, Burns took over as Celtic's youth development manager after the appointment of Martin O'Neill as manager.

In March 2002, he combined his Celtic job with an international role as assistant to Scotland manager Vogts on a part-time basis.

He remained in the role as assistant to Walter Smith after Vogts was sacked and in 2005 returned once again to Celtic as first-team coach after Gordon Strachan took over from O'Neill.

The following year it was confirmed Burns was undergoing treatment for skin cancer after he was diagnosed as suffering from a melanoma.

At the time of his first cancer operation, Burns had talked of the possibility of the cancer returning.

"If it comes back again then you will have to deal with that," he said.

"My friends and family will help me with that."

He also expressed the hope that his case might make people more aware of the growing problem of skin cancer.

"Men in general don't really examine their bodies, their moles and marks, especially in the west of Scotland - not that we get that much sun anyway."

At the beginning of January 2007, eight days after Smith quit as Scotland manager, Burns resigned from his Scotland role.

He had been tipped as a potential successor to Smith.

In March 2008 the club confirmed Burns was to begin receiving treatment after skin cancer returned.

Rangers assistant boss Ally McCoist, who had known Burns for more than 20 years, said at the time: "You always say things like 'why does this happen to the good guys?' That's certainly the case because Tommy Burns is an absolute gentleman.

"You would never hear anybody in football say a bad word about Tommy Burns, and to have been involved in football for so long, that's quite an accolade.

"He's a smashing man, he's a very strong man, he's got a lovely family and we at this football club just wish him all the very, very best."

Burns and his wife Rosemary were married for 28 years and the couple had four grown-up children.

His daughter recently gave birth to his first grandchild.

Hundreds of fans streamed to Celtic Park to pay their respects.

They laid bouquets outside the stadium and scarves and football shirts from a wide range of clubs, including Rangers and Kilmarnock and Manchester United, were draped over the railings outside the building.

Some fans had written messages on the shirts, including "Tommy Burns - true legend" and "A Bhoy who lived the dream".

Another read "Tommy Burns - true gent of Scottish football".

Football enthusiasts were struggling to come to terms with his death.

Jackie McMillan, 36, a railway worker from Cumbernauld, said: "I was in total shock this morning when I heard. He was so young.

"He was a family man. It's very sad."

Her son Stuart, 16, is a Rangers fan but wanted to pay tribute.

He said: "When he was with Scotland he was always really really good and he was a Celtic legend.

"I just wanted to come down and pay my respects. It puts things in perspective."

Jim McKendry, 71, a retired park worker who lives in Glasgow, said: "I will remember Tommy as a great player for Celtic and a great family man as well.

"He was well liked by everybody and he was very well respected.

Comedian and lifelong Celtic fan Billy Connolly, who is patron of the Celtic Foundation, the club's charitable arm, also visited the stadium to pay his respects and was greeted by applause from the crowd.

A tearful Gordon Strachan showed the strength of feeling over the death of Tommy Burns by revealing their friendship had been the highlight of his spell as Celtic manager.

Strachan revealed how Burns, who spent 25 years at Parkhead as player, manager and coach, had kept him sane amid the trials of managing one half of the Old Firm.

The pair had been fierce midfield rivals during the 1980s but former Aberdeen hero Strachan discovered Burns was a "world champion" among men when they became colleagues in 2005.

Wiping tears from his eyes in the Celtic Park boardroom, Strachan said: "No disrespect to football, but being Tommy's mate is the best part of coming to Celtic.

"People will be judged, not as a footballer - and there weren't many better than him - but as a person. He's top of the league when it comes to being a man.

"Even yesterday when I was with him, his faith is incredible. All he was interested in was making sure Rosemary and the kids and I were all right. He wasn't thinking about himself."

"The most important thing I did when I came here was make Tommy assistant manager," Strachan said.

"Through his intelligence, common sense and humour, he made me understand what Glasgow was all about. If I didn't have him I would have gone off my head. He kept me sane at times.

"Sometimes when your relatives go, you don't see them so often. But he has been part of my life every day for three years. That's why I am taking it rather hard at the moment.

"He radiated - every time he walked into a room, no matter how you were feeling, you felt better when Tommy was about.

"We've missed him about the place because it's not the same when he's not there."

Strachan revealed his friend never lost his lauded sense of humour.

"Typical Tommy, we still managed to have a laugh yesterday, 14-15 hours before his death," said Strachan.

"I said, 'Thirty years ago, if the Celtic and Aberdeen fans could see us now, they wouldn't believe us, me and you having a hug on your bed in the afternoon'.

"It can change from kicking lumps out of each other until me here now missing somebody as badly as I have ever missed anybody."

Strachan, who was once set upon by a Celtic fan during a game at Parkhead, added: "When I got attacked on the pitch, he said, 'I knew you were slow, but I didn't know you were that slow'.

"I have laughed every day since I joined Celtic. He made me feel good when he was alive and his memory will make me feel good. He liked people to enjoy themselves.

"The only time he got a bit tetchy was when anyone joined in when he was singing Mack The Knife.

"You weren't meant to join in - that was his song. He was a very good singer, actually."

Rangers fans on their way back from the UEFA Cup final in Manchester also stopped by to pay their respects, to applause from their rival fans.

Chief executive Peter Lawwell said Burns transcended the divide in Glasgow and that Celtic had "lost one of this club's favourite sons".

"He was a wonderful human being," Lawwell added. "In life I think you only really meet several special, special people and Tommy Burns was certainly that.

"His football style, as a Celtic man - his standards, values, integrity, his humour - made him that special person.

"He really loved Celtic, he loved the Celtic support and the Celtic support loved him.

"Tommy will go down in history as a Celtic legend amongst many, many great legends Celtic have."

Lawwell revealed Burns had been working to ensure the youth structure was functioning properly until the final weeks of his life.

"I spoke to him last Monday and again it was business," Lawwell said.

"His energy, his drive, and his passion for this club was remarkable."

That passion will have a lasting impact at Celtic, who moved into their new training centre in Lennoxtown earlier this season.

"Tommy leaves us the legacy of the youth academy -Stephen McManus, Darren O'Dea, Aiden McGeady, Paul Caddis," Lawwell added.

"He had a big input in Lennoxtown. He campaigned for 10 years for it and gave me a hell of a row when he saw the size of the indoor pitch.

"He wanted a full-size pitch and I never told him until we opened the door!

"He was a big inspiration. I remember taking him up to Lennoxtown and it was a derelict site. It needed a lot of imagination at that stage.

"I don't think he believed us because he had a number of disappointments - but we delivered it for him."