BY IAIN COLLIN – @CCP_sport
MARK Burchill has revealed how an access-all-areas visit to English Premier League success story Bournemouth has readied him for a return to management.
The former Celtic and Scotland striker has been out of the game since being sacked as Livingston boss back in December.
But, rather than sit and sulk over the decision, the 35-year-old has used his time out of the game to travel the world in search of fresh ideas.
Burchill has enjoyed a watching brief at clubs in England, Spain, the Netherlands, Slovakia and Thailand but admits his trips to see old Portsmouth team-mate Eddie Howe at Bournemouth have topped the lot.
He said: “I’ve been travelling all over the world. In the last six months, my air miles have gone through the roof, but the contacts I’ve made and the sessions I’ve seen have been absolutely brilliant.
“It’s been my first break in football in 17 years and, as a young coach, it’s given me learning time and time to reflect on what happened in my first job and how it went.
“At the same time, I’ve tried to really spread my wings wide and see different things.
“I played with Eddie Howe at Portsmouth and he gave me full access to the Bournemouth first-team and his team meetings and so on.
“That was amazing. I’ve been down there three or four times, which has been great.
“People keep asking me if I would take a job as a first-team coach or an assistant-manager’s job. I’m only 35, I’ve only been coaching for a few years, so of course I would.
“I’ve had probably four concrete offers for different things, but nothing that was right for me and my family. Hopefully something will come up soon that is right for me.”
