Martin O'Neill last night paid tribute to former Colleague Tommy Burns, who died yesterday after a lengthy battle with skin cancer.

The Villa boss worked with Burns in his five years as Celtic boss and said: "I am deeply sorry to hear news of Tommy's death. I met him in June 2000 when I became the Celtic manager. He was a great help to me in those early weeks at Celtic Park.

"I entrusted Tommy with the job of re-developing Celtic's youth policy and when I joined him in visiting the families of prospective players to persuade them to join Celtic, Tommy was always treated with reverence and respect.

"He was a brilliant footballer and will be very badly missed. My condolences go out to his wife and family."