Glentoran defender Bobby Burns insists his time commentating on the game was “a lifesaver” as he swapped his boots for a microphone.

The talented full-back – who can also operate in midfield – suffered a double leg break in the latter part of 2020 and put his time during rehabilitation to good use as he offered his analysis for the BBC.

Despite wishing he was able to roll up his socks and help his team-mates, the Crumlin native spoke about his time in the media side of things during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Honestly, the commentating and media side of things were a lifesaver for me,” he acknowledged.

“I suffered an injury, there were COVID restrictions in place and I wasn’t training, so I was grateful to everyone at the BBC for helping me to stay involved with the game and have some fun times.

“The media and networking allowed me to learn a lot of things and gain an insight into that part of the world.

“I am currently doing a degree in Business Management in Sport and doing my coaching badges, so I’m keeping myself busy outside of football.

“I would say once my career finishes, I’ll be interested in looking at the business side of football and that ties in media, marketing, finances and everything else, so I wanted to make use of the time that was kindly afforded to me.

“It was a great experience and something I’ve continued to do as I offered my analysis for the Northern Ireland Junior and Super Cup teams recently.”

Burns’ rise to Irish League stardom started at Glenavon but those days of excelling at Mourneview Park were aided by stints at Crumlin United, Cliftonville and Knockbreda.

“When I was younger, I played Gaelic from the age of four until twelve as well as football with Crumlin United,” he said.

“I had a year with Lisburn Youth but a librarian at my school was a coach at Cliftonville so I went there and we had such a successful team and won numerous trophies.

“At that time, Cliftonville didn’t give many opportunities to young players and Glenavon came in, with Gary Hamilton promising me that I would train with the first-team and play with the Reserves.

“I accelerated through the ranks and I had a great six-month loan spell at Knockbreda which really helped me as I entered a man’s changing room and I managed to score eight goals in eight games under Gareth Scates.

“We were bottom of the table when I joined but we beat Armagh City on the final day of the season to stay up and I netted twice, so it was definitely a move I needed at that time.

“When I went back to Glenavon, I probably went from a young prospect to a first-team level player and I was fortunate that Rhys Marshall was suspended for the first game of the season as I scored in a 3-2 win against Warrenpoint Town, before scoring against Ballymena a week later.

“That first full season as a first-team player was a memorable one as we finished third in the table, qualified for Europe and I was named as the Glenavon Young Player of the Year.

“We had a great mix of experienced heads with the likes of David Elebert, Kris Lindsay and Jonny Tuffey combined with youthful talent such as Mark Sykes, Rhys Marshall, Joel Cooper, Josh Daniels, James Singleton and Caolan Marron.”

Burns’ performances at Mourneview Park wouldn’t go unnoticed as he made the switch to Heart of Midlothian in 2018 – citing boss Hamilton as a major influence in his career early in the game.

A six-month loan spell would also see the 22-year-old end up at Livingston, as well as a year at Newcastle Jets in Australia.

“Gary was very good with young players as he gave you confidence and kept you in the team despite if you made a mistake,” he added.

“It was a busy time for me before moving to Hearts as my mum wasn’t well and I was doing my A-Levels.

“I could have moved to Rochdale or Bristol City a few years previous but I wanted to finish my studies and I knew if I performed, then I still had a chance of making it.

“The Hearts interest felt like the right time to move and I remember flying over to Edinburgh praying Coleraine would beat Cliftonville in the Irish Cup so I could seal the switch and not have to risk an injury in the European play-off.

“Hearts is a massive club with a great stadium and I managed to play ten games before moving to Livingston on a six-month loan where I made eight appearances.

“Livingston was a great experience as they played a different style of football but they always did enough to stay up and they had a good work ethic.

“I returned to Hearts in January 2019 and played in an Edinburgh derby and a Scottish Cup semi-final which were unforgettable experiences. I was meant to come on in the final against Celtic but unfortunately Odsonne Edouard had different ideas as he netted a last-minute winner.

“I went on loan to Newcastle Jets for the 2019/20 campaign and I thoroughly enjoyed it and I was playing with the likes of Joe Ledley and Wes Hoolahan.

“I played every week, enjoyed a great lifestyle and it has certainly whetted my appetite of playing football abroad again in the future.”

Due to Hearts’ relegation and the COVID-19 pandemic, Burns would swap Edinburgh for Cumbria as he signed for Barrow in August 2020.

However, that stay at the League Two side would be short-lived as he joined Glentoran on a season-long loan two months later.

“I loved my time at Hearts but it was hard to get that stability there as they must have had four or five managers,” Burns continued.

“However, I managed to play at some iconic stadiums, train with several ex-Premier League players and compete against internationalists.

“Once they got relegated and the Australian league was cancelled due to COVID, I knew I had to find a new club but it is great to see Hearts where they are now.

“They have a settled and stable team under a good manager and they are reaping the benefits of that.

“I joined Barrow but to be honest I was living out of a suitcase and I made the move to Glentoran and things were going good until I suffered a double leg break at Coleraine which ruled me out of the rest of the campaign.”

Ahead of the current campaign, Burns’ deal at Barrow was cancelled by mutual consent and he would join Glentoran on a permanent basis.

After playing across the water, Burns was full of praise for the Irish League and reflected on his time with the under-age Northern Ireland squads.

“The standard of the Irish League has improved and not only are clubs recruiting players from the mainland, but there are guys coming over from the likes of the USA,” he remarked.

“The professionalism is improving all the time and the facilities are probably the next hurdle for the league to overcome.

“The more gyms, canteens, sports scientists, better pitches etc can only be a good thing for the league and more clubs are adopting a full-time approach.

“However, the Irish League is still so competitive as full-time teams still have to fight tooth and nail to pick up wins against the part-time outfits.

“It is exciting to see the next step of where the Irish League could go. In my opinion, teams have to strive to qualify for a group stage of a European competition and the avenues that could open from that would be frightening.

“I was called-up to the main Northern Ireland squad once but featured heavily for the U17’s, 19’s and captained the 21’s.

“A full cap for Northern Ireland would be a dream come true but my main concentration is club football and help Glentoran win silverware.

“I have really enjoyed my spell at Glentoran, it was great to join a full-time set-up and I’m just aiming to make up for lost time this year after my injury.”