‘I just want stability’ – Exclusive interview with Millwall loan signing Ollie Burke on his meteoric rise and challenges faced

Oliver Burke turns 25 in April and to say Millwall’s latest loan recruit has already packed a lot into his football career is a major understatement.

By the age of 20 he had twice broken the record for being the most expensive Scottish footballer of all time. He has won a Scottish Premiership title at Celtic and also played in the Bundesliga and La Liga for RB Leipzig and Deportivo Alaves respectively.

At the age of 19, after scoring six goals in 31 matches for Nottingham Forest, Burke signed a five-year contract with Leipzig with the fee reported to be £13million.

At the time he was compared to Gareth Bale. Few footballers have to deal with that level of hype. So how did Burke handle it?

“You know what, because I was so young I actually had no idea about transfers and money,” he told the South London Press this week. “Not until I had an interview and they said to me ‘you broke the record’. I went ‘oh right….great’.

“I was focused on playing footie and seeing where it got me. I never thought about what came into it, money-wise.

“It was crazy with the expectation that was placed on me so early doors – being compared to players who had done it and won everything. They were top, top players – and I’m only just breaking through and making my mark on things. I’d only just started off.

“You definitely feel the pressures because everybody expects the world from you and for you to do everything immaculately – but there have definitely been times when there have been ups and definitely times when there have been downs.

“It’s all experience. I wouldn’t change anything at all. It’s a hell of a journey already.”

The next stage will take place in SE16, at least until the start of May.

Millwall boss Gary Rowett has wanted to work with Burke before but it has taken until now for that deal to come to fruition.

Burke had not played a Championship match for Sheffield United since August 18. Former Blades manager Slavisa Jokanovic claimed he was lacking self-belief.

“He [Jokanovic] spoke to me about that and I agree with him,” said Burke. “Football is such a confidence game at times. Without playing football and having that trust of the manager to believe in you – to give you those minutes that are required – it’s very difficult to be 100 per cent at times and get everything rolling smoothly. Lots of things come into it, like getting those minutes into the legs and your fitness.

“You lose belief a little bit at times, especially when you’re not playing. You self-doubt a little bit. I am a great believer in myself and I know what I’m capable of doing – it’s just now putting it out there.

“I need a manager who will believe in me and play me.”

Millwall’s lack of financial muscle – at least compared to so many of the clubs they are competing with in the Championship – means they tend to land talent in need of a rebuild.

The harsh reality is that if Burke had been flying then he would not be in Bermondsey now.

What does Burke crave? Stability.

“It’s a massive stage of my career now,” he said. “I’m 24 and I wouldn’t class myself as a young player any more.

“I’m a senior pro and it’s down to me to start playing football. That’s the key. I was starved of it for so long. To feel settled would be amazing.

Hopefully it can bring out the best in me, instead of me constantly moving in and out of teams.

“I want to become the first player on the manager’s teamsheet. It will be the boost I need.

“I’m definitely a player who has been ready to go on an adventure and travel – no matter what it is.

“It’s life experiences as well. You only live once.

“I’m at a stage now where I do want to settle. I know I’m only a loan player but I’m still going to treat it the same – that is my club. I want to do it for the team, do it for the fans and do everything I can to put everything into it to help the team, to put us in a great position.”

Just as Burke’s rise was meteoric, so too was Leipzig’s. Only founded in 2009, they qualified for the Champions League in the 2017-18 season. Burke opted to join Premier League West Bromwich in August 2017 in a £15m transfer.

“Being away from everything was very difficult,” he said. “There were times when I think if I had stuck it out at Leipzig and didn’t rush to move to West Brom that it could’ve formed into something – if I’d trusted and believed in it.

“I was just itching to play more football. But when I look back I was playing a fair bit of football there, more than I thought.

“I could look back at loads of different things and think ‘wish I did that, wish I did this – should have stuck it out’. Everything happens for a reason, I believe.

“I moved to West Brom, Tony Pulis signed me. I played my first game, got an injury to my hamstring and before I knew it he’d been sacked.

“Everywhere I’ve been since it has been very chop and change, different managers. Every manager has a different opinion on you and how he wants to play.”

A prime example is Burke’s spell on loan at Celtic. He scored four goals in 19 appearances under the guidance of Brendan Rodgers. Then came another change as Neil Lennon made a Parkhead return.

“Once Brendan left to go to Leicester, the treatment he got from the manager in place – well, subsequently we do not expect any of our players to go anywhere near Celtic Football Club,” said Luke Dowling, West Brom’s sporting and technical director at the time.

“Brendan was an unbelievable manager,” said Burke. “I felt like I played some of my best bits of football under him. He was very helpful and wanted the best for you.

“For it to change and someone else come in at such a weird time of the season was different. People come and go from places and you have to adapt.

“It’s difficult when you have momentum and belief in the manager and squad. We still went on to do well under Neil Lennon.

“One of my favourite experiences was playing for Celtic. The atmosphere and everything there – in Scotland football is life and death. It is such a big club.

“I played in La Liga against massive teams like Madrid and Barcelona. In Germany it was matches with Bayern – all those big teams and players you dream of playing against as a kid. I’m very proud to have said I’ve done it and played in it.

“I’ve got a lot to still learn but I can bring this experience into the team. It’s a good talking point with the boys when they ask what it’s like to play abroad, I’ll always be open and tell them how it is.”

Burke has described Dougie Freedman as a mentor. Crystal Palace’s sporting director was managing Forest when the attacker began to create waves.

“He was a massive influence and I can’t thank him enough,” said Burke. “I can only speak highly of him. The way he treated me coming through at Forest was amazing.

“He used to get me up early, into the dome, and he had me doing a hundred keepy-ups before I started training with the boys in the morning.

“Dougie helped me with a lot of little things – like my diet. He told me certain things to eat – getting steaks down me so I got bigger for men’s football. All these little things he told me gave me that edge and pushed me in the right direction.”