Paul Sturrock last night expressed his thanks to everyone who has sent him goodwill messages this week - and joked he was shocked to hear his old Dundee United manager Jim McLean actually praise him for once.

The Tannadice legend announced on Monday he was suffering from Parkinsons Disease, but quickly allayed fears over his health by insisting that he has the condition under control with drugs.

Despite this, the ex-Scotland striker has been inundated with goodwill messages from both the public and figures within football, with the notoriously fastidious McLean leading the tributes.

The wily striker was a mainstay of McLean's team which won the league championship in 1983 and starred in the club's UEFA Cup final defeat to Gothenburg in 1987.

Sturrock, who was sacked as the United manager by his former mentor in 2000, insists he only went public about his health problems because he no longer wanted to keep it secret and, although he warned on Monday that he didn't want sympathy, he has been bowled over by the reaction.

He said: "The kind words and messages I've had from everyone is very appreciated. I didn't come out and tell people for that reason, though, it's just that I'm an honest person and I don't like hiding things.

"It's not something I intend to make a big deal of but, still, it's nice to know that people care. It's nice to hear Jim praising someone for a change, it's not really in his make-up so it's a bit special when it happens."