| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mark James Burchill[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1980-08-18)18 August 1980 (age 45) | ||
| Place of birth | Broxburn, Scotland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Celtic | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1998–2001 | Celtic | 50 | (20) |
| 2000 | →Birmingham City (loan) | 13 | (4) |
| 2001 | →Ipswich Town (loan) | 7 | (1) |
| 2001–2005 | Portsmouth | 24 | (8) |
| 2003 | →Dundee (loan) | 11 | (2) |
| 2003 | →Wigan Athletic (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2003–2004 | →Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2004 | →Rotherham United (loan) | 3 | (1) |
| 2005 | Heart of Midlothian | 12 | (4) |
| 2005–2008 | Dunfermline Athletic | 84 | (24) |
| 2008–2009 | Rotherham United | 24 | (5) |
| 2009–2010 | Kilmarnock | 15 | (1) |
| 2010–2012 | Enosis Neon | 42 | (7) |
| 2012–2013 | Esan United | 2 | (1) |
| 2013–2015 | Livingston | 39 | (3) |
| Total | 326 | (81) | |
| International career | |||
| 1999 | Scotland U19 | 2 | (0) |
| 1998–2001 | Scotland U21[3] | 15 | (6) |
| 1999–2000 | Scotland | 6 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2013–2014 | Livingston (assistant) | ||
| 2014–2015 | Livingston | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 18 December 2014 | |||
Mark James Burchill (born 18 August 1980) is a Scottish former professionalfootball player and coach. He played for Scottish clubsCeltic,Dundee,Hearts,Dunfermline Athletic,Kilmarnock andLivingston, and in England forBirmingham City,Ipswich Town,Portsmouth,Wigan Athletic,Sheffield Wednesday andRotherham United. He wascapped six times for theScotland national team.
Burchill was born inBroxburn and grew up inLivingston,West Lothian, Scotland. He attendedSt Mary's Academy, Bathgate followed bySt. Margaret's Academy, Livingston, where his footballing ability became apparent. Burchill began his career at Scottish clubCeltic for the1997–98 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 theScotland national football team, making his debut againstBosnia-Herzegovina in October 1999. While playing for Celtic againstJeunesse Esch of Luxembourg in the qualifying round of the2000-01 UEFA Cup, Burchill scored the fastest-everhat-trick in a European club match.[4] However, successive managers failed to see the Scotland international as a part of the first team picture. The signing of £6 millionChris Sutton further pushed Burchill down the pecking order, and in September 2000 he moved toBirmingham City on a three-month loan, making his debut in a 2–0 home win overTranmere Rovers.[5][6] Burchill went on to score five goals in 17 games (10 as a substitute) during the spell.[7] Birmingham wanted to complete the deal but were unable to agree personal terms with the player.[8] In February 2001, Burchill chose to go on another three-month loan until the season's end atIpswich Town,[9] scoring once against Bradford City.[10]
During the off-season Burchill was signed byPortsmouth for a £600,000 fee.[11] He showed his potential immediately at his new club. After making his debut againstStockport County he scored twice in his next game, againstGrimsby Town.[12][13] However, a knee injury suffered after less than a month put him out of action for 10 months.[14] He recovered in time to start the2002–03 season in fantastic form, but under new managerHarry Redknapp he fell down the pecking order and was made available for transfer.[15] He did however contribute 18 appearances and four goals as they won theFirst Division Championship and promotion to thePremier League.[16] He was loaned out toDundee from February 2003 to the end of the season,[17] and helped them reach theScottish Cup Final, in which they lost narrowly toRangers.[18] During the2003–04 season he was loaned out to firstly toWigan Athletic, and thenSheffield Wednesday.[19][20] However, he failed to score for either club and neither moved to make the deal permanent.[21][22] Starting the2004–05 season as fifth-choice striker, Burchill went on loan toRotherham United, hoping to impress enough to restart his career. However, after only a month, and one goal againstCrewe Alexandra,[23] he was injured and returned to Portsmouth,[24] where he was pushed further down the pecking order by the return to fitness of long-term injured strikerVincent Péricard.[25]
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 forHearts, where he remained until the end of the season.[26] On 6 July 2005, he joinedDunfermline Athletic[27] 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.[28] In April 2008, Dunfermline managerJim McIntyre announced that Burchill had been offered a new contract but had decided to leave theScottish First Division side in order to "pursue other avenues".[29]
On 11 June 2008, Burchill signed a two-year deal withRotherham United, where he previously enjoyed a loan spell during theirChampionship campaign.[2][30] He scored his first goal for the Millers in the 1–1 draw away atDagenham & Redbridge.[31] However, Burchill left after the 2008–09 season.[32]Kilmarnock managerJim 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",[33] and signed a one-year deal with the club in August.[34] He injured hisAchilles tendon in a friendly match againstBurnley, an injury which eventually required surgery,[35] and resumed training in mid-October.[36] He scored his first goal for the club in a 1–1 draw withHibernian on 12 December 2009.[37]
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 forCypriot First Division sideEnosis Neon Paralimni.
In October 1999, Burchil made his debut for the senior side as 79th minute substitute in European Championship Qualifier againstBosnia And Herzegovina. His first start came later than month in a 3–0 win againstLithuania.
He appeared as a substitute in both matches againstEngland in the playoffs for the2000 UEFA European Football Championship.
In total he played for Scotland on 6 occasions with his final appearance coming in April 2000 in a friendly againstThe Netherlands.[38]
On 25 March 2013, Burchill was named as a player/assistant manager of his home town clubLivingston withRichie Burke to become the manager.[39] 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 aScottish Challenge Cup match againstBerwick Rangers.[40]
Burchill was appointed caretaker manager of Livingston in December 2014.[41] As manager he led the club to success in the2014–15 Scottish Challenge Cup and also saved the side'sScottish Championship status on the final day.[42] Midway through the following season, Burchill was sacked with the club sitting second bottom in the Championship.[42]
After his departure from Livingston, he worked aschief scout atAFC Bournemouth.[43] When technical directorRichard Hughes moved toLiverpool prior to the2024–25 season, Burchill followed him to join the club's scouting team.[44]
His father's cousin is the Simple Minds musicianCharlie Burchill.[45]
Burchill's daughter, Tiree Burchill, is a Scottish youth international with caps at U15, U16, U17 and U19 levels;[46] as of July 2025[update], she was playing for Hibs.[47][48]
As of 19 December 2015[update]
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Livingston |  | December 2014 | December 2015 | 45 | 14 | 8 | 23 | 031.11 |
Portsmouth
Livingston
