“MOTHERWELL have been doing exceptionally well this season, third top of the league under Mark McGhee, and Phil had played a big part in that as captain of the club.

“When I was at Celtic when Tommy Burns was manager, Tommy signed him. I had seen him play a number of times for Motherwell at the time. I think Celtic paid £1.75million for him which was a lot of money in those days.

“Unfortunately he had a lot of injuries at Celtic and we didn’t see his full potential, and the same at Sheffield Wednesday.

“But he recaptured what we expected of Phil O’Donnell, particularly this season at Motherwell, the initial team he played with, and he was one of the reasons they have been doing so well this season.”

Davie Hay

“HE was an amazing guy. When I first came here he was the first person I met. He came out especially to meet me.

“It's a massive loss to Motherwell. He was just a great player and a great person. Everyone will miss him.”

Chris Porter - Motherwell FC