George Burley
Posted: Tue Sep 10, 2024 12:22 pm
My thoughts are with George & his family on hearing this news. Hoping only for positives for him from hereon in;
EADTIpswich Town legend George Burley has announced that he is currently undergoing treatment for cancer.
The 68-year-old has been involved in more matches than anyone in the club's history - 500 as a player and 413 as a manager.
A right-back, he was a key man during an era in which the Blues won the FA Cup (1978) and UEFA Cup (1981). The Scot then returned to lead the team to a Championship Play-Off Final win in 2000 at Wembley and a subsequent fifth-place finish in the Premier League.
In a statement released by the club, he said: "After feeling unwell earlier this year, I have recently received a diagnosis and I am taking positive action to fight the disease.
"It has been a difficult time, but I am feeling much brighter now. In fact, I am able to get to matches at Portman Road and I am enjoying watching the team playing back in the Premier League.
"We are grateful to the club for the support they have shown me and my family and I would ask that everyone is respectful of our privacy at this time."
Current Town manager Kieran McKenna said: "This club has had some brilliant managers and George is right up there as one of the very best.
"It has been a pleasure to get to know George since I arrived at Ipswich. He is a positive and optimistic character, and I know he will also take that attitude into the battle he now faces. We are all right behind him."
Ipswich chairman Mark Ashton added: "Our thoughts are with George, his wife Jill and their family. It's always great to see him here in the directors' box on a matchday and we will do everything we can to support one of our all-time greats, uniquely as both a player and manager."
The statement adds that neither George or the club will be making any further comment at this stage.