Bio:
Chris Burke was born on December 2nd, 1983, in Scotland’s football capital, Glasgow. He spent his early days playing youth football for Celtic Boys Club and represented his country on the youth and professional stage. It wasn’t Celtic that Chris would go onto make his debut for, as in 2000 Chris switched to cross-city rivals Rangers, where he would later make his professional debut in March 2002 against future employers Kilmarnock.
Across his career, Chris went on to play for a variety of teams on both sides of the border. Such as Rangers, Cardiff City, Birmingham City, Nottingham Forest, Rotherham United, Ross County, and eventually retiring at Kilmarnock in 2022. His career spanned over 500 professional games, scoring over 80 goals.
After his playing career, Chris quickly took up a managerial role with the Kilmarnock youth teams, more notably guiding the U19s side to their first Scottish FA Youth Cup since 2004. Chris even took the reins as Kilmarnock manager for the penultimate game of last season, narrowly losing to Hearts. Just recently, though, Chris departed Kilmarnock and was appointed the Brentford B team assistant head coach.
Football clearly runs in the family as Chris’s son, Cole burke is a very prominent figure in the Kilmarnock and Scotland youth setups. Even making two first-team appearances for the Kilmarnock first team at the tail end of last season before going out on loan to Queen of the South this season.
We had the pleasure of getting to ask Chris a few questions about his youth career.
What clubs did you play for at youth level?
“I played for Celtic Boys’ Club after a successful trial. During that period, I trained with Rangers and various English clubs. I had a choice of either signing for Rangers or Arsenal and finally chose Rangers.”
Who were the best players you played with and against during your youth career?
“John Kenedy, Aiden McGeady, Alan Hutton, Charlie Adam, Alan McGregor, to name a few”
Who was your favourite coach throughout your youth career?
“Had good coaches that taught great values and let me play with freedom; John Brown, Billy / James Duncanson, a few English-based coaches, many more, but the best ones let me be me”
If you had one piece of advice for today’s generation of youth footballers, what would it be?
“Practice good habits and don’t give up if you don’t see the results straight away. Ask questions on how you can improve and show resilience when maybe it’s not going your way. Always work on your strengths, not just weaknesses. Be yourself and play with a smile, no matter what age you are.”
