Perth Glory captain Jacob Burns infamous for being one of the hardest player’s in the A-League.
Some suggest his aggressive approach borders on the unfair.
It may come as a surprise then that the 35 year-old has an easy going attitude to life away from football.
“Off the field I'm a lot more relaxed. I can only go off some of the players that I've played against and then end up signing for Perth they have a totally different perception of me off the field than on it,” Burns says with a smile.
When the whistle goes Burns becomes the ultra-competitor and he believes this could be why he has such a notorious reputation.
“I play to win the game and to drive the boys on. I'm very competitive by nature and if I can help the team in some way get results than that's what I'm there for,” Burns said.
Despite his coach’s unease with some of his tackles at training, Glory boss Kenny Lowe understands his captain’s importance to the team.
“Jacob's top notch, he conducts himself in the right way, he's the club captain. Since he's been out he's probably been the best player in training. He's kicked a few people as well, he probably get about six yellow cards in training,” Lowe said.
If Perth is to turn around a recent horror of results and qualify for the final, Burns will have to play a pivotal role.
"Team's have done it just at different times through the season, whether it's at the start of the season or whether it's in the middle or at the end," Burns said.
"So we have to take that positive into our next games."
