Mark James Burchill (born 18 August 1980) is a Scottish former professional football player and coach. He played for Scottish clubs Celtic, Dundee, Hearts,

Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently play in Scottish League One after being relegated from the 2021–22 Scottish Championship. Dunfermline ...

, Kilmarnock and Livingston, and in England for

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...

and

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...

. He was

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

six times for the Scotland national team.

Playing career

Celtic

Burchill was born in Bangour and grew up in Livingston, West Lothian, Scotland. He attended

St Mary's Academy, Bathgate St Mary's Academy was a Roman Catholic High School located in the eastern part of the town of Bathgate, West Lothian in Scotland. It was a state funded school for older children which drew its pupil roll from most of the towns in West Lothian. T ...

followed by

St. Margaret's Academy St Margaret's Academy in Livingston, West Lothian, Scotland is a Catholic secondary school. The school serves Broxburn, East Calder and the areas of Livingston: Eliburn, Deans, Howden, Craigshill, Dedridge, Ladywell, Livingston Village and ...

, Livingston, where his footballing ability became apparent. Burchill began his career at Scottish club Celtic for the 1997–98 season. In his first three seasons with the club he scored 20 Scottish Premier League goals in only 17 starts, with 33 appearances as a substitute. This prolific return saw him gain a place in the

Scotland national football team The Scotland national football team gd, Sgioba Ball-coise Nàiseanta na h-Alba sco, Scotland National Fitbaa Team represents Scotland in men's international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. It competes in the thr ...

, making his debut against Bosnia-Herzegovina in October 1999. While playing for Celtic against

Jeunesse Esch Jeunesse Esch (full name ''Association Sportive la Jeunesse d'Esch/Alzette'') is a football club, based in Esch-sur-Alzette, in south-western Luxembourg. The side play in the National Division, the highest league in the country, and have won th ...

of Luxembourg in the qualifying round of the 2000-01 UEFA Cup, Burchill scored the fastest-ever

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

in a European club match. However, successive managers failed to see the Scotland international as a part of the first team picture. The signing of £6 million

Chris Sutton Christopher Roy Sutton (born 10 March 1973) is an English former professional football player and manager. He later became a pundit and commentator for BT Sport, regularly working on their coverage of Scottish football. He is now also a pundi ...

further pushed Burchill down the pecking order, and in September 2000 he moved to

on a three-month loan, making his debut in a 2–0 home win over

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...

. Burchill went on to score five goals in 17 games (10 as a substitute) during the spell. Birmingham wanted to complete the deal but were unable to agree personal terms with the player. In February 2001, Burchill chose to go on another three-month loan until the season's end at

, scoring once against Bradford City.

Portsmouth

During the off-season Burchill was signed by

for a £600,000 fee. He showed his potential immediately at his new club. After making his debut against

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...

he scored twice in his next game, against

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...

. However, a knee injury suffered after less than a month put him out of action for 10 months. He recovered in time to start the 2002–03 season in fantastic form, but under new manager Harry Redknapp he fell down the pecking order and was made available for transfer. He did however contribute 18 appearances and four goals as they won the First Division Championship and promotion to the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

. He was loaned out to Dundee from February 2003 to the end of the season, and helped them reach the

Scottish Cup Final The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the Scottish Cup, is a knockout cup competition in Scottish football. Organised by the Scottish Football Association, it is the third oldest existing football competition in the w ...

, in which they lost narrowly to Rangers. During the 2003–04 season he was loaned out to firstly to

, and then

. However, he failed to score for either club and neither moved to make the deal permanent. Starting the 2004–05 season as fifth-choice striker, Burchill went on loan to

, hoping to impress enough to restart his career. However, after only a month, and one goal against

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...

, he was injured and returned to Portsmouth, where he was pushed further down the pecking order by the return to fitness of long-term injured striker Vincent Péricard.

Hearts and Dunfermline Athletic

On 28 January 2005, Burchill was allowed to leave Portsmouth on a free transfer after spending two years out of favour. He chose to return to Scotland and sign for Hearts, where he remained until the end of the season. On 6 July 2005, he joined

where he scored 12 league goals in 31 games in his first season, despite the club struggling in the bottom half of the table. He signed a year's extension to his contract with the Pars in December 2006. In April 2008, Dunfermline manager Jim McIntyre announced that Burchill had been offered a new contract but had decided to leave the

Scottish First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 to replace the old Scottish Football League Division Two, as ...

side in order to "pursue other avenues".

Rotherham United and Kilmarnock

On 11 June 2008, Burchill signed a two-year deal with

, where he previously enjoyed a loan spell during their

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

campaign. He scored his first goal for the Millers in the 1–1 draw away at Dagenham & Redbridge. However, Burchill left after the 2008–09 season. Kilmarnock manager Jim Jefferies had tried to sign Burchill in 2008 when the player chose to join Rotherham. In July 2009 Burchill joined the Scottish Premier League team in Italy for pre-season training, was reported to be "looking very sharp", and signed a one-year deal with the club in August. He injured his

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus ( ...

in a friendly match against

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...

, an injury which eventually required surgery, and resumed training in mid-October. He scored his first goal for the club in a 1–1 draw with Hibernian on 12 December 2009.

Enosis Neon Paralimni and Esan United

Burchill became a free agent after his contract with Kilmarnock expired. On 1 September 2010 Burchill, having received several offers to move abroad, agreed to sign for

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and is thus officially ...

side

Enosis Neon Paralimni Enosis Neon Paralimni Football Club ( el, Ένωση Νέων Παραλιμνίου, ''Enosi Neon Paralimniou'', "Youth Union of Paralimni"), commonly referred to as ENP, is a Cypriot football team from Paralimni. Currently playing in the fi ...

Coaching career

On 25 March 2013, Burchill was named as a player/assistant manager of his home town club Livingston with Richie Burke to become the manager. However, Burchill was not eligible to play during the end of season 2012–13 due to international clearance not being received on time. He made his competitive debut for Livingston on 27 July 2013 in a Scottish Challenge Cup match against

Berwick Rangers Berwick Rangers Football Club is a football team based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, England, just south of the border with Scotland. Founded in 1881, they currently play in the , the fifth tier of Scottish football, despite hailing fr ...

. Burchill was appointed caretaker manager of Livingston in December 2014. As manager he led the club to success in the

2014–15 Scottish Challenge Cup The 2014–15 Scottish Challenge Cup, known as the Petrofac Training Cup due to sponsorship reasons with Petrofac, was the 24th season of the competition. It was competed for by 32 clubs, which included the 30 members of the 2014–15 Scottish ...

and also saved the side's

Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship, known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish Champio ...

status on the final day. Midway through the following season, Burchill was sacked with the club sitting second bottom in the Championship.

Personal life

His father's cousin is the Simple Minds musician

Charlie Burchill Charles Burchill (born 27 November 1959) is a Scottish musician and composer, best known as the guitarist of Simple Minds. He is one of the founders of the group. Style During Simple Minds' early to mid-1980s period, Burchill's guitar had a dis ...

. Burchill's daughter, Tiree Burchill, is a Scottish youth international with caps at U15 and U16 levels; , she was playing for

Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championship, having been relegated from the 2020–21 Scotti ...

, on loan from Celtic.

Managerial statistics

*Statistics include games as caretaker before permanent appointment.

Honours

Player

Portsmouth * Football League First Division: 2002–03

Manager

Livingston * Scottish Challenge Cup : 2014–15

References

External links

*
Profile
a
londonhearts.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burchill, Mark 1980 births Living people Scottish footballers Scotland international footballers Scotland under-21 international footballers Celtic F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Ipswich Town F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players Dundee F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Rotherham United F.C. players Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players Kilmarnock F.C. players Enosis Neon Paralimni FC players Livingston F.C. players Premier League players Scottish Premier League players English Football League players Cypriot First Division players People educated at St Margaret's Academy Expatriate footballers in Cyprus Expatriate footballers in Thailand

Mark Burchill Mark James Burchill (born 18 August 1980) is a Scottish former professional Association football, football player and coach. He played for Scottish clubs Celtic F.C., Celtic, Dundee F.C., Dundee, Heart of Midlothian F.C., Hearts, Dunfermline Ath ...

Livingston F.C. non-playing staff Sportspeople from Broxburn, West Lothian Footballers from West Lothian Scottish Professional Football League players Scottish Football League players Scottish expatriate footballers Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Thailand Association football forwards