TRIBUTES have been paid to a teenage footballer who died while celebrating the New Year with friends in Manchester.

Kyle Doherty, 19, had gone missing while at Suede nightclub in Manchester city centre on New Year's Eve, sparking a police search.

The body of the Stenhousemuir player was recovered in a courtyard beside the club near the Deansgate area of the city on Thursday night.

Police believe the teenager, who lived in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, with his parents, had fallen from a nightclub roof into a small gap or shaft between two walls.

He was part of a group of nine friends who were visiting Manchester from Scotland for New Year.

Last night, tributes were paid to the young player from many involved with the sport.

Scottish Football Association chief executive Stewart Regan said on twitter: "So sorry to hear about @StenhousemuirFC young player Kyle Doherty. Taken too soon. May he rest in peace."

Former Dundee United and Scotland full-back Andrew Robertson, now with Hull City, tweeted: "Very sad news about Kyle Doherty. Thoughts go out to all his family and friends and everyone involved at Stenhousemuir."

Bill Darroch, chairman of Stenhousemuir, said in a statement: "I am extremely saddened to have to report that one of our Under 20s team players, Kyle Doherty, has been found dead following a night out in Manchester.

"We are all devastated by this news and our immediate thoughts are with Kyle's family and friends at this sad and difficult time.

"Kyle was a talented footballer and had been a part of Stenhousemuir Football Club since signing for us in July 2013. He had become a regular in our Under-20s Team and was starting to break through in to the First Team squad. He was liked and valued by his team mates and coaches alike. He will be missed by all who knew him.

"The entire club is in shock at this most terrible of news and we offer our deepest condolences to Kyle's family and friends."

Fellow Stenhousemuir midfielder Sean Dickson, 22, tweeted: "RIP Kyle. Was a pleasure to play along side him. A great player and an even better lad will be greatly missed."

A spokeswoman for Greater Manchester Police said the death was not being treated as suspicious.

Kyle, who previously played for Stranraer, was reported missing at around 1.45pm, police said. When last seen at 12.30am on January 1 he was wearing a blue single-breasted suit with a white shirt and tie.

A member of staff at Suede, who was working on New Year's Eve, told local media they were at a loss as to where a customer could have fallen from.

They said the venue backs on to another club but that the door between the two was locked.

They also claimed never to have seen a fire escape or any outside access from Suede, or any windows which opened. The smoking area for the club is understood to be a ground level area outside the front of the club near where the door stewards stand.

On its website, the nightclub claims it hosts "many regular famous faces including Premiership footballers, Coronation Street stars, Geordie Shore, Big Brother & more".

In a statement, Greater Manchester Police said: "The body of a 19-year-old man has been found in the city centre.

"At around 10pm, Thursday 1st January 2015, officers discovered the body of a man on Longworth Street, near Deansgate.

"The death is not being treated as suspicious and formal ID has yet to take place."

The club told the Manchester Evening News it was assisting police with the investigation and offered its condolences to the man's family.