Celtic hero Stiliyan Petrov has revealed that the first person he contacted after getting diagnosed with cancer was former Hoops boss Martin O'Neill.

The ex-Bulgaria international midfielder played under O'Neill twice, first at Parkhead and then at Premier League side Aston Villa.

The two are very close, as the 43-year-old revealed on BT Sport's Currie Club podcast.

He was speaking to former Celtic stars Chris Sutton and Jackie McNamara on the show and commented on how O'Neill took a significant chunk of time out of his day to discuss things with him about his situation.

He said: "Martin came with a passion and a desire to win. He built a team to fight and to win every single competition.

"But there is a side of Martin not many people know.

"We know he left because of his wife Geraldine but when I got ill and I was diagnosed, he was the first person I contacted because I needed somebody I could trust, who could give me guidance and a second opinion.

"I remember phoning. He was at Sunderland and was outside taking a session, so I had to phone his secretary to try to get him.

"He was on the phone within about 30 seconds and spent about an hour with me.

"He didn’t even go back to training. He just made sure I was OK and that I would get the right treatment.

"He put me [in touch] with the right person. So it’s not just Martin O’Neill as a manager, it’s Martin O’Neill as a human being as well.”