Frank Cairney was convicted of sexually abusing boys while he was at Celtic Boys Club

A businessman and former football manager has provided a home for life to a paedophile who preyed on young players at Celtic Boys Club.

Neil Watt, 56, bought Frank Cairney’s home eight years before his conviction and granted him rent-free tenancy for life, property records confirm.

Cairney, 83, the former chief coach of Celtic Boys Club, was jailed for four years in February after being convicted of nine charges of sexually abusing boys. Mr Watt, who managed Ayr United, Clyde and Stranraer, is now the managing director of a property firm, Hacking and Paterson, and gave evidence for Cairney, his former coach at the boys’ club, during his trial. He also spoke up publicly for Cairney when allegations first emerged in the 1990s,