| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Burton O'Brien[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 10 June 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Johannesburg, South Africa | ||
| Position(s) | Central Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| West Park United | |||
| 1997–1998 | St Mirren | ||
| 1999–2002 | Blackburn Rovers | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1998–1999 | St Mirren | 16 | (0) |
| 1999–2002 | Blackburn Rovers | 0 | (0) |
| 1999 | → St Mirren (loan) | 10 | (1) |
| 2002–2005 | Livingston | 88 | (15) |
| 2005–2008 | Sheffield Wednesday | 99 | (6) |
| 2008–2011 | Falkirk | 90 | (1) |
| 2012–2015 | Livingston | 81 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Alloa Athletic | 27 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | Cowdenbeath | 12 | (0) |
| Total | 423 | (23) | |
| International career | |||
| 1999–2002 | Scotland U21[2] | 5 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Burton O'Brien (born 10 June 1981) is a Scottish former professional footballer, who played as a central midfielder.
After playing for Scotland at under-21 level, O'Brien tried unsuccessfully to switch nationality to represent South Africa, the country where he was born.
He began his career with St Mirren before moving to English club Blackburn Rovers for a £300,000 fee in 1999. After only making one first team appearance at Blackburn, he joined Livingston in 2002 and won the Scottish League Cup with them in 2004. he subsequently played for Sheffield Wednesday and Falkirk before rejoining Livingston in 2012. He joined Alloa Athletic in June 2015 where he spent one season before signing for Cowdenbeath. O'Brien announced his retirement on social media at the end of the 2016–17 season.[3]
O'Brien went on to coach at St Mirren U18s seeing several players move to the first team during his time at the club.