Blues boss McLeish hails Phil O'Donnell

Jan 3 2008 By Colin Tattum, Birmingham Mail

ALEX McLeish has paid his tribute to Phil O'Donnell, the Motherwell captain who died at the age of 35 after collapsing on the pitch during their game against Dundee United on Saturday.

McLeish managed him for a brief time during the midfielder's first spell at Motherwell, where he had established a reputation as one of the country's best box-to-box players.

"I sold him to Celtic for a record fee, £1.75million," the Blues manager recalled of the 1994 transfer, which came a couple of months after he had taken charge at Fir Park in the summer.

"He was a brilliant young footballer, a midfielder who made runs into the box all day long, he had fantastic energy.

"He'd been in the game a long time and he was imparting his experience to the younger Motherwell players.

"He was a super bloke and it's a tragedy to football that we should lose a guy like Phil O'Donnell and my heart goes out to his family."