The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
McBurnie aims to be Tartan Army hero – despite Yorkshire accent
On-loan Barnsley attacker admits Scotland call is career highlight
Fiercely determined to be considered Scottish as a youngster growing up in England, Oli McBurnie is now fiercely determined to become a Tartan Army hero.
Don’t be fooled by the Yorkshire accent – McBurnie’s allegiances can’t be called into question.
And neither can his desire to make his Scotland selection for the friendly double-header against Costa Rica and Hungary the first of many.
“International football is the pinnacle,” said McBurnie. “To get the call-up is massive. It’s the proudest moment of my career so far. I just want to stay here as long as possible.
“I never really had any choice with my old man. My brother and I always got brought up as being Scottish. We would go into school when it was a dress-down day and we would be wearing our Scotland tops.
“We were Scottish and nobody could tell us any different.
“It seems a bit alien to me when people say I’m English, but with the accent, I guess it comes with the territory.
“We were brought up to celebrate when England got knocked out of the World Cup. That was my childhood. I didn’t really have any say in the matter.
“All my family are from Glasgow. When I told my grandma about the callup, she said that was enough for her. No matter what else happened in football, if I got called up for the Scotland first team, I would have done her proud.
“So that was a nice phone call to make. Club football is one thing, but playing for your country is the pinnacle and that’s what I wanted to do.”
If the call-up by Alex McLeish is the career highlight, being cut loose by Leeds at 15 was the undoubted lowpoint.
“My brother (Zander) and I got released on the same day,” he recalled. “I got released for not being big enough. Zander got released because they said it was too easy for him and he wasn’t trying enough. It was a tough day for the family.
“We had been at Leeds since we were five-years-old. Then at 15 you suddenly get told that you are not there anymore. It’s a big adjustment.
“Our mum and dad had taken us to games and to training – Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday every week for 10 years, then they just said ‘that’s it’.
“We took a year out and played Sunday league football just to get the enjoyment back. Then I went to Bradford and signed pretty much straight away. Zander went to Bradford as well. We’ve never really looked back.
“He is playing in the Swedish second division. It’s a bit colder over there. I was complaining last week about how cold it was and he sent me a snapchat saying that it was -22 over there.
“It’s good to see him doing well. He was always a better player than me. I think I just got a bit luckier than him.”
For a short time, giving up the game was a serious option for the player who is now making a name for himself back in Yorkshire, on loan at Barnsley.
“It came across my mind a few times,” he admitted. “At that age, I wasn’t very mentally strong at all. I had been at an academy since I was five and was mollycoddled almost. Then somebody finally turned round and said ‘we don’t want you anymore’.
“It was a big adjustment period for both of us. I did think about quitting. I fell out of love with the game for a bit.
“I went back to Sunday league, started playing with my mates again and that’s when I got back to enjoying football. I went on trial to Bradford and scored a hat-trick in my first game. They signed me after that.”
Versatility is helping McBurnie’s cause. Seen as a centre-forward at Swansea, he’s been deployed out wide at Barnsley.
He said: “I was always small as kid so I had to find a different way of playing – using my feet and movement.
“I then had a big growth spurt and people were like, ‘you have to be a target
Club football is one thing, but playing for your country is the pinnacle and that’s what I wanted to do. OLI MCBURNIE
man.’ So I had to learn that role as well and I think it has helped that I have done both sides.
“At Barnsley, I have been playing on the wing. I like to think I can play in a few different positions and a few different styles, but in the last few years of my professional career I have usually been a target man.
“I like to score goals and bring other people into the game. That’s what I want to do.
“Obviously, Leigh Griffiths is injured at the minute and he is the No 1. I just have to keep doing what I am doing at Barnsley and keep getting games and scoring goals.
“Who knows what will happen? I want to pull on the jersey for my country as many times as I can and score as many goals as I can.
“That’s what I am here to do. I am not just here to make up the numbers. I am here to try and have a positive influence and stay part of things.
“Playing for your country and scoring would be massive. Every kid dreams of it when you are young.”
With socks halfway up his shins, McBurnie is easily identified on a football pitch. It’s a fashion statement these days but that wasn’t always the case.
“When I was 17, I was on loan at Chester in the Conference,” he recalled.
“They didn’t have a lot of kit, so I had a big, baggy shirt and shorts.
All the elastic had come out of the socks.
“I’m not the biggest guy now, but I was even skinnier back then so these socks kept falling down.
“After the third game, I gave up and kept them down. I scored my first professional goal and got man-of-thematch, so ever since then it has been more of a superstition.
“I keep the socks down and my shinpads are not that big. I’m quite superstitious. If I score one week, I will keep wearing the same boots and trainers leading up to the next game. If I don’t score then I will change it all. It’s fashion with the socks. I get hammered for it!”