It was an audience with Tommy Burns. It was not short on laughs. But it was strong in substance, too. The Celtic coach yesterday gave a state of Scottish football address that covered the greatness of "jammy bastard" Walter Smith, the beauty of the game, the difficulty of being a referee, the future prospects for Artur Boruc, "one of the top six goalkeepers in the world", the toughness of the modern footballer, and the photo-finish for the title of most likeable man in the world.

With the title race hogging the headlines, it was only natural that the subject of Smith, once Burns' nemesis and now back at Ibrox, was raised. "I got a horrible feeling running through me when that happened," Burns said of the moment in January 2007 when he heard that Smith had taken the Rangers post.

"I know what he's capable of. I know how he galvanised the Scottish set-up," said Burns, who was an assistant to Smith on national duty. "He brought in atmosphere, humour, a bit of fun."

He said of the Smith revolution at Ibrox: "He's ahead of schedule, but with that comes crazy expectation. If you told the Rangers fans last year when he took over that this was going to happen, they would be absolutely ecstatic. But now they've gone that far they want more.

"You can get some good coaches who are not particularly good man-managers. You can get some good man-managers who are not particularly good coaches. But that jammy bastard has it all! He's got the credibility, he's got all the things that great managers have. His humility is one outstanding quality anyone can learn from."

Burns was similarly generous about referees in the wake of the decision that awarded a Celtic a free-kick from which Shunsuke Nakamura scored to give the champions three points against St Mirren on Sunday.

"If it had gone the other way at the other end of the pitch, we'd have felt aggrieved about it. The referee has seen it as a foul and he is the man who drives the bus," said Burns. "It's a very difficult job they have. Sometimes we are at games and say, What happened there?' but the referee has to make a decision in a split second.

"They are in an impossible situation. But you have to respect them. And you have to respect the fact that they have made a decision based on what they saw.

"To say that referees cheat and are biased is absolute nonsense. Human error can dictate whether a team loses a silly goal and human ability can win a game. It's exactly the same with referees."

Burns did offer suggestions on how to improve officiating: "If we could afford full-time referees, it would be a help," he said. "If we could get cameras into every ground and have an extra official watching them, that would be of great advantage. But it would take away that magical thing about football that makes the game so exciting and controversial. That's what we love."

The St Mirren match also increased Burns' admiration for Boruc, "the best goalkeeper Celtic have ever had".

He added: "I think Boruc at the moment would be in the top six goalkeepers in the world. He's a big, big character here. He lives on the edge a bit, but you know what they say about goalkeepers."

Asked how he compared to Andy Goram, the Rangers goalkeeper who did as much as anyone to spoil Burns' tenure as Celtic manager, he said: " I'd hate to see Boruc and Goram get together on a night out, that's for sure. In fact, scrub that - the next time they do, give me a shout as I want to be there."

Of Boruc, he added: "On Sunday against St Mirren he made two terrific stops, one in each half. He's done that time and time again this season."

But will the Polish goalkeeper stay at Celtic? "That'll be entirely up to Artur. The club have done everything they can to keep him here, extending his contract earlier in the season. He seems very happy," said Burns.

"Someone might come in and offer Celtic so much money it's impossible to say no to. But for me he's as good as Celtic have ever had."

Burns also said Celtic players were showing a mental strength as the season reaches its climax. "There have been a few occasions this year when the players have put themselves through pain to play," he said.

Burns revealed Stephen McManus had toiled before coming off with his hamstring strain, which will see him miss tonight's game against Inverness Caledonian Thistle, though the captain could be fit as early as the weekend.

He added: "Aiden McGeady also had a badly bruised foot and at half-time the doc thought it was his metatarsal. Again, though, he just got the cotton wool over the top of it and went out and did ever so well. It would have been very easy for both of them to put their hand up and come off. For me, the trait of battling through is still here."

So with that all covered, it was on to the title of nicest man on the globe.

The Burns verdict? "Ally McCoist thinks he's the world's most likeable man . . . apart from me."