Dundee United and Scotland star Paul Sturrock has Parkinson's

DUNDEE United legend Paul Sturrock has revealed that he has been suffering from Parkinson's Disease for the past eight years.

The 51-year-old Scot, who is currently in charge of Coca-Cola Championship side Plymouth Argyle, has a mild version of the progressive neurological condition.

Sturrock told the Home Park club's official website: "I want people to know about this now. I don't want sympathy, I don't want people feeling sorry for me. I just thought this was the right time to bring things out into the open."

Parkinson's Disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system which can impair the sufferer's motor skills and speech as well as other functions.

"It's an illness, yes, but one I am perfectly comfortable with," Sturrock added. "It is not a severe form by any means. It doesn't really affect me unless I forget to take a tablet. Then I just get a few tremors in my hand or my leg.

"It will not affect the way I go about my job. There's plenty of life in the old dog yet."

As a player, Sturrock won 20 caps for Scotland and made two appearances at the 1986 World Cup finals in Mexico. He made his name as a striker at United, helping the Tannadice club to the Premier League title in 1982-83 and scoring 171 goals in 576 appearances.

After starting out as a manager at St Johnstone in 1993, Sturrock was handed the reins at Tannadice five years later. His management career has also taken him to Southampton, Sheffield Wednesday and Swindon Town. This is his second stint at Plymouth, having moved to Home Park from United in 2000 – around the time Sturrock is believed to have first started suffering from Parkinson's Disease.

This is not the first time Sturrock has been troubled by health problems. He collapsed in the dugout during a match at Tannadice in 1995 when he was in charge of St Johnstone. Sturrock, who is known as Luggy, denied he had had a heart-attack and said that he had "hyper-ventilated".