Kenneth "Kenny" Burns is a former Scotland

Scotland national football team

The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...

 international footballer, most famous for his time with Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest F.C.

Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...

, where he played a vital role in their European Cup

UEFA Champions League

The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

 successes.

Burns was born in Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

, and started his career with Rangers

Rangers F.C.

Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...

 as an apprentice but left for Birmingham City

Birmingham City F.C.

Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...

 aged 17, in 1971. He arrived at the Blues as a defender

Defender (association football)

Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....

, but was converted to striker

Striker

Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...

 after Bob Latchford

Bob Latchford

Robert Dennis "Bob" Latchford is an English former association footballer who played as a centre forward. He made more than 500 appearances in the Football League, playing for Birmingham City, Everton, Swansea and Coventry City in the First Division, and won 12 full caps for England.Latchford was...

 left in 1974,
and earned the first of his 20 international caps in that role soon afterwards.
However, after joining Nottingham Forest for £150,000 in 1977, he was converted back into a central defender by Brian Clough

Brian Clough

Brian Howard Clough, OBE was an English footballer and football manager. He is most notable for his success with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. His achievement of winning back-to-back European Cups with Nottingham Forest, a traditionally moderate provincial English club, is considered to be...

 and Peter Taylor

Peter Thomas Taylor

Peter Thomas Taylor was an English football goalkeeper and more notably, a football manager. His name is closely associated with that of Brian Clough, with whom he served as assistant manager at various clubs in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.Playing twenty years of professional football, he started...

.

Burns proved a great success in his new role and was voted FWA Footballer of the Year in 1977-78

1977-78 in English football

The 1977–1978 season was the 98th season of competitive football in England, from August 1977 to May 1978:-First Division:Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest side took on the First Division by storm, by winning the League Cup on 22 March and confirming themselves as league champions the following month...

, as Forest won the First Division title. He was an influential figure in the side's European Cup campaigns over the next three seasons, his defensive partnership with Larry Lloyd

Larry Lloyd

Laurence Valentine Lloyd was a footballer, a burly and tough central defender who won honours for both Bill Shankly's Liverpool and Brian Clough's all-conquering Nottingham Forest side of the late 1970s....

 instrumental to Forest's victory in the 1979 and 1980 tournaments. He also managed to score in the second leg of the 1979 UEFA Super Cup

1979 UEFA Super Cup

The 1979 UEFA Super Cup was played between Nottingham Forest and Barcelona CF, with Nottingham Forest winning 2–1 on aggregate.-First leg:-Second leg:Nottingham Forest won 2–1 on aggregate.-External links:* from UEFA* from RSSSF...

 final victory against Barcelona. At one time he was renowned for his 'wild man' image and while maintaining an aggressive nature, he also possessed a shrewd football brain and was always likely to score vital goals.

Burns left the City Ground

City Ground

The City Ground is a football stadium in the West Bridgford area of Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, on the banks of the River Trent. It has been home to Nottingham Forest Football Club since 1898, and has a capacity of 30,602 ....

 in 1981 when Forest accepted a £400,000 offer from Leeds United

Leeds United A.F.C.

Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...

 for him. He stayed with the Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

 side until 1984 and played with Derby County

Derby County F.C.

Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...

, Notts County

Notts County F.C.

Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system...

 (on loan), Barnsley

Barnsley F.C.

Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's...

 and Elfsborg

IF Elfsborg

IF Elfsborg is a Swedish football club located in Borås. The club has won five national championship titles, the latest in 2006, and two national cup titles. Currently playing in the highest Swedish league, Allsvenskan. Elfsborg is based at Borås Arena...

 in the latter stages of his professional career.

He went on to represent a string of non-league

Non-league football

Non-League football is football in England played at a level below that of the Premier League and The Football League. The term non-League was commonly used well before 1992 when the top football clubs in England all belonged to The Football League; all clubs who were not a part of The Football...

 clubs as player or player-coach

Player-coach

A player-coach, in sports, is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. The term can be used to refer to both players who serve as head coaches, or as assistant coaches....

, finishing up as assistant manager of Telford United

Telford United F.C.

Telford United F.C. was an English football club based in Telford, Shropshire.The club existed under various names for a total of 132 years from its formation in 1872. The club was founder members of the Alliance Premier League in 1979 and played at this level for 25 years before being wound up in...

 in 1993.

Honours

Nottingham Forest:
First Division: 1977-1978

League Cup: 1977-1978, 1978-1979

FA Charity Shield: 1978

European Cup: 1978-1979, 1979-1980

Uefa Super Cup: 1979

Anglo-Scottish Cup: 1977

External links