FORMER Scottish internationalist footballer Davie Cooper was fighting

for his life last night after suffering a brain haemorrhage.

The player, who celebrated his 39th birthday last month, was said to

be in a ''critical'' condition at the Southern General Hospital in

Glasgow after collapsing at Clyde FC's Broadwood Stadium near

Cumbernauld.

Shocked members of his family and the Scottish football community were

last night praying that man who was regarded as one of the most gifted

wingers in Scotland at the peak of his career would recover.

Doctors at the Southern General -- who say he is suffering from a

subarachnoid haemorrhage and is deeply unconscious -- were attempting to

stabilise his condition in the intensive care unit of the hospital's

Institute of Neuro-Sciences.

They carried out a number of brain scans and placed him on a

ventilator to help him breathe, and may operate today.

Cooper's general physical condition -- he was regarded as very fit for

his age -- is not expected to have any significant bearing on his

chances of recovery because of the depth of his unconsciousness.

His girlfriend, Elizabeth Thomson, 32, and other members of his family

were maintaining a bedside vigil at the hospital last night.

Miss Thomson, who is a fitness instructor in Hamilton, said at the

hospital last night: ''We are all in a state of shock. It is absolutely

devastating, but we know Davie is getting the best medical care.''

Her mother, Mrs Lorraine Cameron, 62, had tears in her eyes when she

said at the couple's Hamilton home: ''We are just waiting and hoping for

good news. The one thing we know about Davie is that he is a fighter.''

Davie Cooper -- who was capped 22 times for Scotland and played for

Rangers and Motherwell before returning to Clydebank, his first club --

was due to retire from the playing side of the game at the end of this

season.

He was helping to coach a group of 14 schoolboys on football skills

for the Scottish Television programme Shoot, due to be screened later

this year, when he collapsed on an Astroturf pitch adjacent to Broadwood

Stadium.

Celtic star Charlie Nicholas, who was also coaching the boys from

local schools, together with Scotland under-21 coach Tommy Craig and Tom

Black of Kilmarnock, said they had been ''completely numbed'' by what

had happened.

Speaking from his Glasgow home, Mr Nicholas said they had been

coaching the children on how to take free-kicks and were rehearsing

their lines for the cameras when Mr Cooper slumped to the ground.

He said: ''Davie had just asked me if I fancied going for a pint when

we were finished, and I said that sounded like a good idea. I turned

away and then when I looked back he was on the ground.

''We are all so shocked. Davie looked after himself and was very fit

for his age. He didn't smoke and was not a heavy drinker and he looks

the same way at 39 as he did when he was 30.''

Mr Ian Hamilton, of Scottish Television, who was directing the filming

of the programme, went to Mr Cooper's aid when he collapsed and

attempted to give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation until an ambulance

arrived.

Clyde manager Mr Alex Smith, who was taking about 20 of the club's

players through a training session inside the 6500 all-seater stadium at

the time, was alerted and was also very upset.

Medical staff who were already at the stadium for the coaching session

gave Mr Cooper first aid within a few minutes and he was taken by

ambulance to Monklands District General Hospital in Airdrie before being

transferred to the Southern General.

A hospital spokesman added last night that neurological surgeons were

not yet able to speculate on the player's chances of survival because

this type of haemorrhage was ''totally unpredictable''.

They had sought first to stabilise him and then to establish the cause

of the bleeding and were hopeful that his condition would remain the

same until this morning, when a decision on whether to operate would

possibly be taken.

Members of the close-knit Scottish football community were last night

praying for the man who earned the nick-name Super Cooper during his

illustrious career. Hibernian manager Alex Miller said that his team's

match against Motherwell yesterday ''paled into insignificance''

alongside the news of his illness.

Motherwell players, some of whom played with him in the 1991 Scottish

Cup Final, heard the news en route to Easter Road.

Mr Jack Steedman, managing director of Clydebank FC, where Cooper

began his career, said everyone at the club was devastated.

''Davie took the Clydebank training on Tuesday night and there was no

suggestion of this terrible thing.''

He added: ''Davie was first signed by the club when he was 18 from

amateur side Hamilton Avondale and is very much a fixture at Kilbowie

Park. So much so that one of our stands is named after him. He is not

just a player. He is a member of the family.''

Mr Walter Smith, the manager of Rangers, said everyone at the club

wished him a quick recovery. Rangers captain Richard Gough added: ''It's

hard to believe that this has happened to Coop.''

Davie Cooper spent 12 seasons at Ibrox after Rangers bought him from

Clydebank for #100,000 in 1977 and won a host of honours.

A spokesman for Scottish Television said: ''Davie is effectively an

employee of ours, because he does a lot of sports analysis on programmes

such as Scotsport and during big football matches.

''Everyone is devastated, especially the boys in the sports

department. Our thoughts and our prayers are with Davie and his

family.''