I’M IN THE END ZONE
Burke is man possessed as clock ticks down on career
CHRIS BURKE admits the fear of the curtain closing on his career is driving his desire to squeeze every second out of life at Kilmarnock.
Once again the 36-year-old was the star turn for his side as he provided the creative spark to sink St Mirren.
Nicke Kabamba scored the only goal in Paisley to push the Rugby Park men up to fifth on the Premiership table but it was Burke who shone brightest with a quality which was missing amongst his younger counterparts.
The former Rangers winger insists he’s determined to squeeze as much as he can from the game before hanging the boots up.
He said: “I think just because it’s near the end. You have to play every game like it is your last, especially at my age.
“You never know what is around the corner. Hopefully I can play as long as
I can but I will know myself when my time is up and I have good people around me who will tell me.
“Right now I am challenging the group and we are competing in this league and hopefully that continues.
“St Mirren are a tough team and it was a sticky match. We were really good in the first half and we created and took our opportunity.
“The second half was a little more backs to the wall but we have to manage that better.
“We can’t just let them keep coming at us because eventually they will score. But it’s credit to the whole team that everyone dug in and defended well.”
One bonus of a fan-free stadium is the ability to hear the chatter amongst players and Burke was far from pleased with a touchline challenge from Buddies defender Joe Shaughnessy.
It looked like a studs-up stamp through the knee but Burke opted to play the diplomat when asked if he was unhappy with the challenge.
He said: “Yes. I’m not going to be happy with a challenge like that if it’s a little bit high.
“I was just looking for the free-kick and I got it. The only issue I had was
with the reaction of the player. That’s all. I’m not going to go down easily or dive. If I’m hurt I’m hurt.
“It’s gone now. It doesn’t matter. People say things in the heat of the moment and then you shake hands afterwards.
“That’s just how it goes. It is a bit sore but when you are a wide player and you like to attack you are going to get kicked.
“You will have heard me shouting and complaining to the referee too much. I just need to shut my mouth sometimes.
“I’m not getting away with it as much with the referees. I’m surprised I’ve not been booked yet.
“It’s a hard job for the referees. With no fans people can hear players moaning and complaining and it becomes more intense. It always happens. Nothing has changed but you guys can probably hear it more. “Now you will have some empathy with the referees.” St Mirren are now on a sixgame winless run. There is a degree of sympathy f or Jim Goodwin’s side who have suffered more than most through illness, injury and the general disruption of the coronavirus. That said, Shaughnessy’s first-half header was the only time the Buddies looked like getting back on level terms after Kabamba had slammed home a Burke cross from the right in the 28th minute. All of the control and threat in the opening 45 minutes belonged to Killie but an improvement after the break wasn’t enough to claim any points from the encounter.
Alex Dyer’s now fully into his stride as boss at Rugby Park.
Three wins from their last four games is a sign of the consistency he’s been calling for and Burke believes hosting Motherwell on Friday night is the perfect chance to continue building momentum.
He said: “We’ve got two wins on the bounce which is hard to do in this league. On Friday we have a home match against Motherwell, which will be tough.
“They are a bit like us in that they had a slow start but now they have picked up. It will be tough.
“Both teams will think they can get three points but if we can win three on the bounce that will give us great belief.”