Burnley have parted company with head coach Nicky Hayen after a 4 to 1 away defeat against Lincoln City on Saturday, 24 October, left the club sitting 22nd in the Championship table.
The Clarets announced the decision less than two hours after the final whistle at the ProAmpac Stadium. In a short statement, the club confirmed the move was made “following a disappointing start to the Championship season”. Burnley did not name a replacement or specify who will take temporary charge of the first team.
Having suffered relegation from the Premier League last season, Burnley began the campaign hoping to push for an immediate return to the top flight. Instead, one win from their opening 12 league matches has left them in the relegation zone on eight points, three points adrift of safety.
Second-half collapse at the ProAmpac Stadium
Burnley took the lead in Lincoln despite losing Armando Broja to an early knock. His replacement, Andreas Hountondji, opened the scoring in the 39th minute by converting a Lucas Pires corner at the back post.
The visitors could not hold their advantage until the break, as Ben House pulled Lincoln level during first-half stoppage time. The home side then took complete control after the restart. Mikkel Ladefoged put Lincoln in front in the 49th minute, and Dom Jefferies extended the lead to 3 to 1 in the 57th minute. Ladefoged added his second goal of the afternoon in the 67th minute to put the game out of reach.
Lincoln goalkeeper George Wickens saved a late penalty from Marcus Edwards to deny Burnley a consolation goal. The result marked Burnley’s sixth defeat in 12 Championship outings. Defensive fragility has been a constant problem this term, with Sky Sports noting that the Clarets held the joint-worst defensive record in the division when Hayen was dismissed.
The search for a successor
Hayen leaves Turf Moor just months after arriving from KRC Genk on a three-year deal in July. The Belgian coach arrived with a strong pedigree, having guided Club Brugge to the Belgian Pro League title in the 2023 to 24 campaign before reaching the Champions League round of 16 the next season.
Attention now turns to who will take over a squad fighting near the bottom of the table. According to early bookmaker odds reported by the Burnley Express, Steven Gerrard is the initial favourite for the vacancy. Other candidates also include former Burnley manager Sean Dyche alongside Dave Challinor, Rob Edwards, Carlos Corberan, and Steve Cooper. These names represent bookmaker speculation rather than confirmed approaches by the club.
At the time of writing, Burnley had still not announced an interim head coach in their public updates. The board faces a tight turnaround to organise the dugout before Portsmouth travel to Turf Moor for their next league fixture on Saturday, 31 October.
