Burke happy to play for his future with Kilmarnock
Winger hopes to earn new deal by staying in top flight
WITH all but four Kilmarnock players’ contracts set to expire at the end of the current campaign, the vast majority of the current crop at Rugby Park are playing for their futures at the club over the next three games. For veteran winger Chris Burke, though, that’s just the way he likes it.
The 37-year-old has enjoyed another fine season in Ayrshire and if Tommy Wright’s side do go on to beat the drop and preserve their Premiership status, there will be few who could claim to have had as big an impact as the evergreen winger.
A win over Motherwell at Fir Park this afternoon will ensure automatic relegation is no longer a viable concern for Kilmarnock, should Accies also drop points against St Mirren.
Some players would crack under the pressure of not knowing where they’ll be playing next season – but Burke insists it is simply business as usual.
“I’ve known no different during my time at the club,” he said. “There’s no pressure on them to offer me anything and I think it’s only fair that they wait until they discover which division we’ll be in.
“For me, it doesn’t matter. The most important thing is for us to keep this club in the Premiership and then push on again next season. If you
perform well then teams will want you but, at the same time, if you’re enjoying your football here then it doesn’t matter whether you’re offered a deal now or in three games’
time– the player’s decision will be the same. I don’t think another month will make any difference.
“Personally, I’m looking for a six-year contract! Seriously, the first thing I want to do is to play again next season and that’s an important decision when you reach my age. I’m still enjoying it, I still love football and still play like I’m a kid at the park with my mates.
“I work hard every day
The first thing I want to do is to play again next season and that’s an important decision at my age
for the team and this team has been great for me. I’m a Kilmarnock supporter, although I wasn’t when I first arrived. But they’re part of me now, like family. We’ll have to wait and see what happens because you never know in football but would I like to play for this club longer? Of course I would.”
Burke added that while he would love to tie down his long-term future to the club, he concedes that there are others within Wright’s squad whose negotiations must be prioritised.
He continued: “To be honest, there are other players who are more important than me as far as the future of this football club is concerned so I’d rather they had their deals sorted out before me. How long will I keep playing? That’s the great unknown.
“For now, I’ll do it year by year. I already assess my body every six months and I feel fine but I strongly feel that players should be judged by how they perform on the pitch rather than by how old they are.
“If you asked people watching me play how old I was then I don’t think they would say I looked like a 37-year-old. Everyone tells me to play for as long as I possibly can and that’s the ambition but you never know what’s around the corner: an opportunity might arise in a different area and you just hang up the boots.
“One thing driving me on is that I really don’t want to end my career playing in an empty ground, that’s for sure. I want to end it by being clapped off the pitch – not booed off – by the fans, with my family there to see me. So we’ll maybe say one more year and then take it from there.”
Meanwhile, Motherwell defender Declan Gallagher has refuted the suggestion that this afternoon’s clash is a dead rubber for the home contingent. Next season’s Premiership status has already been confirmed for the Steelmen but the 30-year-old centre-half insists that there is still plenty on the line in Lanarkshire today.
“For every position in the league there’s obviously money up for grabs for the club as well, and from my own personal thing it’s trying to make the Euros squad,” he explained.
“A lot of people have a lot of personal things to look after, whether it be new contracts, a move away or whatever, or reaching the Euros squad – there’s a lot to play for, and the boys are clearly up for it.”