Burnett was born in Lambeth, London and started out playing for Leyton Orient as a youngster, and represented England at youth level.
[2] Following a clear out at Huddersfield, Burnett was loaned to Grimsby Town in 1998 and scored in his debut against Scunthorpe United as the Mariners put their local rivals out of the Football League Trophy.
[4] Burnett helped the Mariners to an impressive finish in the Championship, almost securing a play-off spot to the Premiership the following season.
He stayed with Grimsby until the summer of 2002, but was troubled by a persistent injury problem that made him miss chunks of the 1999–2000, 2000–01 and 2001–02 seasons.
In a statement made to the Grimsby Telegraph, Burnett claimed that Woking supporters had singled him out for abuse,[5] stating that they expected him to come on and win the game for them because he was a professional footballer.
Burnett started his managerial career with Fisher Athletic in 2004, winning the London Senior Cup and Southern Football League Eastern Division.
[13] During the 2003–04 season Burnett went into acting appearing as an extra for Sky One football television drama Dream Team.
[14] Burnett can be seen in a number of episodes appearing to be sat on the substitutes bench also training with the fictional Harchester United team.