By Nodley Wright, Freelance WriterTHE REMOVAL from centre stage to where one is the star to sideshow or supporting actor can be a difficult thing for one to accept.
This could be especially difficult for one who was used to adoration and adulation. Those adulations and adoration has been replaced to some degree by verbal abuse. Some people crack under this kind of pressure, for others the criticism is like water off a duck's back in that they are unaffected and yet for others it serves as motivation.
Deon Burton combines the last two.
His association with the Jamaican team was to spell almost instant good fortune. Soon after he was to earn a one million pound move from First Division Portsmouth to Premiership club Derby County.
VITAL ROLE
He became a hero in Jamaica by playing a vital role in the country's historic qualification for the 1998 World Cup in France and was subsequently selected to a World squad.
That was followed by him being named Sportsman of the Year for 1997.
Today things have changed for Burton. He was released by Portsmouth at the end of the season and no longer is he seen by local football fans as the "Golden Boy" or "Certain Burton" but the "Goal-less Boy" and "Uncertain Burton".
That is no bother for the player though as he soldiers on.
"Everyone is allowed his or her opinion," Burton said in response to the fans who have vented their anger at him.
"People have booed but I get on with it. At the end of the day it is the coach who determines who is called and if he decides that I should be here I will come. I will always turn up if I am invited and will do my best if given the opportunity," he continued.
At 27 going on 28, Burton is old and experienced enough to know that what he is experiencing is an everyday part of life.
"It is the same fans who will get behind you when you are doing well. It (treatment) comes with the territory. Once the goals come back they will be behind me again," he opined.
Nothing, Burton said, will affect his commitment to playing for his country.
HONOUR TO PLAY
"I like coming here to play. What better can you do than to represent your country. I have been playing nearly eight years and I am like a veteran now. There are not many people in the squad now who have played for a longer period than I have and it is still always an honour to play," he said.
Burton admitted to being a laid back person, which can be misinterpreted as him not trying.
"Everytime I go out there to play for Jamaica I try my best. The situation now is that I am not starting and when I am looking on I am following the game to see what is going on to see what I have to do when you get on," he said.
He continued: "I am working hard, waiting and hoping to take some part. When not playing you are happy to do your part when you come on, even if it is for 15 minutes and when you get on you try to get goals or to hold the ball up and create goals for others."
Playing his role aside, goalscoring is what Burton is known for and that has not been happening for a while. According to him a goal drought and loss of form are things that everyone goes though. Now it is just his turn.
"I can't really say. I can't really put my finger on why things have changed. Even when I am not scoring I always try my best and this kind of drought is what everyone goes through," Burton said of his current form.
That though does not get him down and he has continued to find ways to rediscover that touch.
"I have been looking at videos to see what it is that I am doing differently if anything and working on my game. In the latter part at Portsmouth we had a striker coach and I did work with him," Burton explained.
While he would not readily admit it, injuries did play a part in the slump he experienced. He had a broken fifth metatarsal on his right foot (similar to what David Beckham had ahead of the 2002 World Cup) and a fracture of the left knee. Those kept him out of action for quite a while.
Jamaica has always been a happy hunting ground for him and he is looking forward to Sunday's game against Haiti.
"The last time I played in Jamaica I scored. I came on as a substitute and scored in a 3-0 win," he said. That win was against El Salvador in November last year.
Maybe the good run will start again.
"I am ready again. I can't wait," an eager Burton said.
