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More from Bertie Auld on former team-mate Billy McNeill...

"He achieved everything I thought he would do," he tells ´óÏó´«Ã½ Scotland. "He had a tremendous passion for the club.

"He had the supporters at heart. Jock [Stein] always admired him. He became someone that everybody could be proud of. He called him Cesar - he was a leader with the passion of everybody in the terraces.

"He was proud and deserved to have the Celtic captaincy. It didn’t matter where you went, he was always respected.

"He loved being a centre-back and he loved Celtic Football Club. It was a great pool of players we had and Billy was a great leader of that."

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Bertie Auld has been accompanying fellow Lisbon Lion John Clark in laying wreaths at Billy McNeill's statue at Celtic Park.

"Billy was Celtic Football Club for quite a time," Auld tells ´óÏó´«Ã½ Scotland. "I met him as a 17-year-old boy, so to see how he grew in every part of his career was very special.

"I first met Billy at the bottom of the tunnel. He was immaculate. Big Jock [Stein] was the reserves trainer at that time. It was Jock that recommended him - he had a tremendous eye for talent.

"Even then, he conducted himself in the right manner. He respected everybody. It wasn’t until two months later that he started to play, but you could see with his attitude, determination and training and that on the park that he was before his time."

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Former Celtic and Scotland striker Charlie Nicholas has been so overcome with the emotion of "father figure" Billy McNeill's death that he was reduced to tears on Sky Sports.

McNeill signed Nicholas for the Glasgow club and his annoyance at the club's decision to sell the striker to Arsenal was instrumental in his decision to leave for Manchester City.

Nicholas was moved to tears as he recounted how McNeill took time to phone his mum to assure her that he would "be fine" as a professional footballer.

Much is know about Billy McNeill's sporting life. Less so his deep-rooted belief in left-wing politics, as spelled out in his 2004 autobiography, "Hail Cesar". As with the likes of Bill Shankly before him, being brought up in a mining community shaped his views.

Image source, Stephen O'Neill

More from John Clark on former team-mate Billy McNeill, who he also assisted as Celtic manager.

"He was respected all over football," he says. "If you went down to England, everyone knew him. He was well liked, confident and a big winner.

"I had great times with him, playing with him, working with him.

"Billy was the biggest ambassador you could have for Celtic. He’ll never be forgotten. He had an aura about him, no airs and graces.

"I’ll miss his company the most."

Lisbon Lion John Clark has been laying a wreath at the Billy McNeill statue at Celtic Park.

"It’s a sad day for Celtic football club and the supporters of Celtic," he tells ´óÏó´«Ã½ Scotland.

"He was a well-liked persona as captain and as a manager. He had personality for it all. He’ll be sadly missed

"He was a winner, an athlete. He could win you games scoring goals at vital times. He was a personality with a stature about himself – a true Celt.

"If you look at the team he played in, they were a bunch of good players. All personalities in their own right, but Billy had respect from everyone. There was nobody thinking they were better than someone else. It was a level-headed thing, but if it had to be said, he said it."

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Aberdeen took Billy McNeill from Clyde as a replacement for Ally MacLeod, who had become Scotland manager.

Despite some Dons fans thinking that appointing him so early was a risk, McNeill's side went close to the title, only to lose out narrowly to Rangers despite beating the Glasgow three times that season - and also lost out to the Ibrox side in the Scottish Cup final.

Even though McNeill was only at Pittodrie for a season, many suggest he laid the foundations for the great side that emerged under Sir Alex Ferguson.

He brought in Gordon Strachan, from Dundee, and Stevie Archibald, from Clyde, to Pittodrie - and gave Alex McLeish his debut.

However, the lure of a return to Celtic to take over from Jock Stein was too much to resist and his stay at Pittodrie, as with Clyde, was too be a short one.

Billy McNeill started his managerial career with Clyde in April 1977.

But he was only in charge for nine matches before Aberdeen came calling.

With the Bully Wee, he steadied the ship during a difficult season in the Second Division, winning four games, drawing three and only suffering one defeat.

His final game was a 4-2 Glasgow Cup defeat by a Celtic side containing legends Kenny Dalglish, Danny McGrain and Tommy Burns but who needed two late goals to progress.

Billy McNeill left Manchester City for Aston Villa during the 1986-87 season - at the end of which both clubs were relegated from England's top flight.

With Villa finishing bottom of the table, McNeill stood down and was replaced with Graham Taylor.

Unhappy at the decision to sell Charlie Nicholas to Arsenal, Billy McNeill left Celtic for Manchester City.

In his two seasons in charge, he helped his new club win promotion to and then retain their place in the top flight the following season.

A reminder of some of the tributes that have been pouring in, starting with Celtic themselves...

Scottish FA president Alan McRae has added to the tributes, saying "the Scottish football family has lost one of its all-time greats".

"Billy was, quite simply, an icon of Scottish football – a natural leader who, though synonymous with Celtic, was respected throughout the entire Scottish footballing fraternity," he says on the governing body's website.

“A solid, uncompromising defender, his greatest talent was inspiring his team-mates to reach new heights. His standards on and off the pitch were impeccable and he was a true ambassador for the best of the Scottish game wherever he travelled."Though the man known as ‘Cesar’ to Celtic fans is predominately known for his club career, his Scotland career also saw him help the team to new heights – in his first match as captain of Scotland he led the team to a 1-0 victory over England in front of more than 133,000 fans at Hampden Park.

"He will go down in history for his achievements in Scottish football and was rightfully among the inaugural inductees into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame in 2004.“The likes of Billy will never be seen again."

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Former Secretary of State for Scotland and Celtic season-ticket holder Jim Murphy has some personal "brilliant memories" of Billy McNeill.

A reminder of Sir Alex Ferguson's tribute to "a giant of Scottish football".