Gordon's playing career was hugely successful, both in Scotland and in England.

The Edinburgh-born, right-sided midfielder came to prominence at Aberdeen, where he won two Scottish League titles, the Scottish FA Cup three times, the European Cup Winners' Cup and the European Super Cup.

In 1984 he moved south to Manchester United, where he won the FA Cup before hopping across the Pennines to join Leeds United in 1989. In his first season he helped the club to the old Second Division title and a return to the top flight.

Two years later, at the age of 35, Leeds captain Gordon added the 1992 championship to his list of playing honours and was named the Footballer of the Year, becoming the only player to win the award on both sides of the border.

Gordon also won 50 caps for Scotland.

He became assistant manager upon arrival at Coventry in March 1995, and took over the hot seat some 18 months later. After Coventry's relegation in 2001, he left the club, joining Southampton shortly after and earning European football for the Saints, before escaping the stresses of management for a period to spend more time with his family.

He was tempted back into the hot seat by Celtic, who regained the title from Rangers in his first season. Celtic also won the Scottish League Cup that year and Gordon was named Manager of the Year.

The following season saw Celtic progress to the final 16 of the Champions League for the first time since the competition was reformatted in 1993, where they were unlucky to lose against AC Milan. They did win their 41st league title, though, leading to Gordon being named the inaugural Scottish PFA Manager of the Year for 2007.

He has worked on several major tournaments for the BBC, including Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup, and was a regular and popular pundit on Match Of The Day 2.