Today marks the 60th anniversary of Billy McNeill’s debut for Celtic in a 2-0 win against Clyde in the League Cup.

I don’t think there is a more iconic image for Celtic fans than the picture of Billy holding aloft the European Cup.

It was a privilege of mine that I played alongside Billy, that I trained with him and he was a huge help to me at that stage in my career.

He was not just a fantastic player who won the lot with Celtic and who was a tremendous captain and ambassador for the club but he was also a very successful manager. He was a real leader and it is great to see the statue that is there now on the Celtic Way because it would be difficult to underestimate the effect that he had on the club and the way in which he is woven into the history of Celtic.

My heart goes out to his family now as he fights dementia because it is such a cruel illness.