Former Hearts and Scotland manager George Burley is being treated for cancer, Ipswich Town have said.

The 68-year-old ex-Scotland international, who also managed the national team from January 2008 to November 2009, was diagnosed after feeling unwell earlier this year.

Burley took charge at Tynecastle in summer 2005, leading Hearts to the top of the table with a superb 10-game unbeaten run at the start of the league season.

However, rumours persisted of an uneasy relationship with major shareholder Vladimir Romanov, and Burley’s tenure lasted just four months before he departed because of what the club called “irreconcilable differences” with the board.

Burley played for Ipswich from 1973 to 1985 and completed 500 appearances for the club. He was manager at Ipswich from 1994 to 2002.

“It has been a difficult time, but I am feeling much brighter now,” Burley said. “In fact, I am able to get to matches at Portman Road and I am enjoying watching the team playing back in the Premier League.

“We are grateful to the club for the support they have shown me and my family and I would ask that everyone is respectful of our privacy at this time.”