Safety fears over tribute to Shankly.

A TRIBUTE to Scottish football legend Bill Shankly has been scaled down over safety fears.

A red army of 15,000 Liverpool fans was set to descend on the birthplace of the famous manager later this month.

Last year details were put out over the Internet and fans from all over the world pledged to attend the unveiling of a new memorial to Shankly.

But because of fears that the area would simply be swamped by the numbers, the plan is now to hold a small-scale, discreet tribute in the former mining village of Glenbuck, Ayrshire.

About 500 fans, including officials from Liverpool FC, will attend the unveiling of a six-foot high stone memorial to Shankly on Sunday, April 27.

But it may be too late to stop the mass tribute.

Mike Grimes, organiser of the larger event, said last night: `We are told all the hotels between Glenbuck and Ayr are already booked up and people in Scotland are panicking about the number of fans.' Shankly died of a heart attack at 67, in 1981.