Bobby Murdoch was a big, strong player who won the praise of some of football's top names and was crowned the Scottish Football Writers' Player of the Year in 1969.

He joined Celtic provisionally in August 1959, and gained experience at Cambuslang Rangers before joining the Celts permanently in 1961.

Soon after he took over at Parkhead, Jock Stein made the inspired decision to move Murdoch from inside-right to right-half, where he became the anchor man of the celebrated Celtic side of the 60s.

Stein said of the influential star: "As far as I am concerned, Murdoch was just about the best player I had as manager. I only let him move because he had run out of challenges with Celtic."

He made nearly 500 appearances for Celtic and scored around 100 goals before transferring to Middlesborough. Graeme Souness played with Murdoch there, and once commented: "He came along at just the right time, not only for me but for the whole team. His experience settled us down as we went for promotion and he also proved to be a big influence on my career. Bobby was a great passer of the ball and he had an excellent attitude. He would always pull me to one side to pass on advice or to tell me when he thought I was acting wrongly."

Murdoch never achieved his full international potential, winning only 12 caps for Scotland. His honours with Celtic included a European Cup winners' medal, eight Championship badges, four Scottish Cup winners' medals and five League Cup winners' medals.