Former Rangers winger Chris Burke has paid tribute to Ibrox kitman Jimmy Bell, who has died aged 69.
A club icon, Bell joined in the 1980s, initially as a coach driver before assuming responsibility over club kit.
Known as a meticulous worker and a proud figure who loved Gers through thick and thin, tributes have poured in from current manager Gio van Bronckhorst and his players to club legends of years gone by.
Burke, still going strong at Kilmarnock, was a wide-eyed teenager when he first met Bell as he began his Rangers career in the 2000s.
"He was a great man and a great human being," he told Go Radio.
"I used to help him a lot with the kit at the academy. I remember we used to walk to the subway and get off at Ibrox, and I'd help him with the kit before the first team came in.
"I think he took a liking of me because he knew I had that work ethic to help him out – he was fantastic.
"He loved an arm wrestle – I think every new player who came in he would test them with an arm wrestle because he was a strong character."
Nothing sums up the man Burke describes as a "father figure" than the derby day gauntlet the pair of them ran at Parkhead – the young winger's first Old Firm experience.
He continued: "I remember my first Old Firm game away, I was helping him out and that opened up my eyes to the rivalry. Back then you didn't get a lot of stewards and stuff to help you off the bus.
"We had to go back to the bus to get extra kit and the amount of stick I was getting in front of my face, as a young kid I was scared at that point.
"I just remember him protecting me. Every time a Celtic fan came over to give us stick he would block the way. That's what he did, he protected.
"He was kind of like a father figure – not just to me but the other young players. He always loved a Scottish player coming through and doing well.
"I can't speak highly enough of him. Some say he was reserved, some say he was like Marmite. What he did do, he judged you from afar but he would let you in if you were a good human being.
"My thoughts and prayers are with him."
