2009-10 Season Player Notes & Quotes:

Burchill blasted onto the senior football scene in 1997 and scored 20 SPL goals for Celtic in only 17 starts over the next three seasons.

After the signing of Chris Sutton in 2000, Burchill was further pushed down the Parkhead pecking order and he moved to Birmingham City on loan for three months, followed by a loan spell at Ipswich Town.

After signing in 2001 for Portsmouth, loan spells at Dundee, Wigan Athletic, Sheffield Wednesday and Rotherham followed.

He was signed by Hearts on a free transfer in 2005, before joining Dunfermline Athletic and then most recently, returning to Rotherham United.

"I'm definitely looking to stay at Killie for a while. I have never really settled anywhere in my career for any length of time. I was at Dunfermline for three years, and that was my longest at any club since I left Celtic, but they got relegated and I moved on. Hopefully this move will turn out to be a long-term one for me. Last season I took the decision to go to Rotherham because I knew the manager - but it didn't work out. I was played out of position and it was also tough because my family couldn't settle there. At first they didn't move down with me so I was travelling up and down the road all the time to see them. They then came down to live there for a while but it didn't work out. Now I'm back in the SPL it should be pretty straightforward because I'm back living in Livingston where I've always lived. Hopefully that will help me on the pitch. Everywhere I've been I've scored goals so hopefully I can keep that up at Kilmarnock. There's plenty competition for places in attack here though - we've got Kevin Kyle, Allan Russell, David Fernandez, young Conor Sammon and myself - so we just need to wait and see who the manager picks."

Oct 22nd JJ on Burchill's Status... "I signed Mark on a short-term deal because we had a lot of injuries and were short up front. Then he got injured himself and he made a few attempts at a comeback and took injections to try and make it right.  He'll be desperate to play now because he wants to extend his contract, which is up at the end of the year. Mark had a clause inserted in it which meant that an extension would automatically have been triggered once he'd made a number of appearances for us. The injury meant he hasn't had the chance to do that. It's a dilemma for me, but I will need to weigh up what condition my squad is in when the time comes. If we have a couple of forwards out injured the decision becomes easy. Equally, if he comes in and starts banging in goals it would make a difference. Mark is a goalscorer and we haven't been taking enough of the chances we've been making. He played for the 90 minutes in a closed-doors game against Hibs earlier in the week and looked a bit rusty as that was his first game for a while. He'll be handy to have around because Allan Russell will be out for another couple of weeks after breaking his hand."

Dec 11th JJ On Extending Burchill's Contract... "Burchy has been unlucky with injury and we have reviewed the terms of his deal so he now has a contract for the rest of the season. There was a clause where we would review his contract in January if he played a certain amount of games. He was not able to do that because he has been out injured but Burchy is getting his chance now and will play his fair share. All he has to do is perform the way he did against St Johnstone. That doesn't mean to say if he does not score goals we won't keep him. The pressure is off Burchy as he knows he has a deal in place with us until the end of the season. They (along with KK) have played together before and both knew each other from Scotland set-ups. Burchy may not be as skillful or clever as David Fernandez but his experience and movement are great. He is a different type of player and maybe what we have been missing. If we get the right service to Burchy and Kevin they will win points and hopefully help us climb the table."

Dec 17th on Getting His First Killie Goal... "It was a nice feeling to get my first goal for the club, it was an easy one to get me going. I've had two starts now and set up Kevin Kyle's winner against St Johnstone, then scored against Hibs. I still feel I'm five or six games away from being where I want to be in getting to the top of my game. That will only come through games. As a striker it will still be a few games before I'm really into my stride and starting to feel good. I'm delighted with how I've started, but I feel there is a lot more to come. I've been getting fitter and stronger but I still don't feel I'm up to real match sharpness yet. I can do all the running in the gym and in training, but that'll only come through playing games.  Kevin and I will always put ourselves forward to score goals - we're well suited to playing together. We've spoken about the partnership and, although we're just two games into it, it's good we've both scored. I'm just taking every game as it comes. You come to a new club and you want to hit the ground running. I'm happy to be in the team and looking to build on it."