Just hours before he died from skin cancer in 2008, Tommy Burns sent flowers to Scott Brown's sister, Fiona. The Celtic midfielder's sibling was suffering from the same condition as Burns.
Burns - a legend at Parkhead who also served as a player and manager - was first-team coach under manager Gordon Strachan at the time of his illness.
In an interview with The Times on Saturday, Strachan told of the remarkable gesture from Burns.
"I saw him at 4pm and he died at 3am," said Strachan.
When we got together at 10am the day after, I spoke to the players. ‘Broonie’ — Scott Brown — said, ‘Can I speak to you?’ ‘What’s up?’ His sister was dying of cancer at that time. Only 23.
Broonie said, ‘When did Tommy die?’ ‘About 3am this morning. Why?’ ‘Well, my sister got flowers at 10 this morning, wishing her good luck, keep your chin up, from Tommy Burns.’
"Scoring a goal doesn’t make you a good person. Things like that from Mr Burns do," added Strachan.
Fiona Brown died just a fortnight after Burns in May 2008.
Picture credit: Sportsfile
