THE family of a Greenock grandfather say he is lucky to be alive after 'dying' at Celtic Park during the Old Firm clash.

Billy McPherson, 54, was sitting beside his teenage grandson Aaron when he took ill during Sunday's match.

Aaron was definitely man of the match as his quick-thinking reaction helped to ensure his grandad got the help that saved his life.

The 14-year-old said: "I got a fright. It just happened so fast.

"He was holding his chest and breathing heavily, then went to go on the stairs but couldn't move.

"I got the attention of one of the stewards and he got a policeman and a first aider.

"They saved him."

Aaron called and texted his aunt Lynn, Billy's daughter, who was sitting elsewhere in the stadium with daughter Billie, who was celebrating her seventh birthday.

Lynn, 28, said: "Aaron said his granda had taken not well and was in the first aid room.

"When I saw him, he was grey - I thought he was gone.

"He died for two minutes. His eyes started rolling and then they just closed.

"There were about 10 ambulance staff and doctors around him. They did CPR and got him in an ambulance and used a defibrillator to shock him back to life.

"It was horrible - the scariest day I've ever had."

Billy, of Walker Street, was rushed to the Golden Jubilee in Clydebank.

Lynn, who lives next door to her parents, says that if he hadn't been at the stadium when he took the suspected heart attack, her dad wouldn't have survived.

She said: "If it hadn't been for the ambulance service, the first aiders, stewards, the police and Celtic, he wouldn't be here.

"It couldn't have happened in a better place. If he hadn't been at Parkhead that day, he would have been gone.

"Even at home it could take over an hour to get an ambulance to him. We are all very proud of Aaron, he alerted the first aiders and me."

Billy was taken to the hospital's cardiac lab where a stent was fitted and by this time his wife Karen, and his other daughter Louise had arrived at the hospital.

Louise, 30, said: "We were told then he had died and had to be brought round.

"His ribs were cracked because of the CPR and he was in a bit of pain with that.

"We were told he had a blocked artery."

Billy is now in Inverclyde Royal Hospital, where he is making good progress.

The family are very close, with Aaron's mum Louise living across the road with his brother Alfie, nine, and four-year-old sister Andie.

Aaron stays with his grandparents because of the extra room and adores his grandad.

He said: "He is my best pal.

"I go to all the games with him and I've been a season ticket holder since I was three.

"I went up to see him at the IRH and he seems to be getting stronger."

It's been a terrible time for all the family, especially Billy's wife Karen, 50.

She said: "We've been married for 30 years, it's been a terrible shock.

"When I visited him in the IRH, he still looked terrible, he had a nebuliser and was on oxygen.

"He's tired and not sleeping or eating yet, but at least he's still with us."

Their son Sean, 31, who lives in Port Glasgow, has also been at his dad's bedside.

Louise said: "They've fixed the problem just now but he will need another stent, sooner rather than later."

Pictured are Aaron, Louise, Aaron's mum and his aunt Lynn, who was also at the game