Lincoln City have already been the final opponents of one Championship manager this season, and Saturday’s visitors arrive with another under pressure.
Burnley boss Nicky Hayen is expected to remain in charge for the trip to Sincil Bank despite his side’s difficult start. According to the Burnley Express, no managerial change is currently anticipated before the Clarets visit us this weekend. Hayen has continued taking training following Friday’s 2-1 home defeat to Wolves, while arrangements for his pre-Lincoln press conference have also been confirmed.
It gives Saturday an added subplot after Paul Heckingbottom was sacked by Preston North End following our 1-0 win at Deepdale in September. Freddie Draper’s winner proved to be the final result of his reign, with North End having lost six of their opening seven league matches.
Hayen now brings Burnley to Lincoln with just one victory from 11 Championship games and his side in the bottom three. Appointed in the summer, the Belgian is already facing questions about whether he will be given the opportunity to turn things around.
Speaking after the Wolves defeat, he accepted that speculation about his future comes with results like these. However, he insisted his attention remains on working with the players.
“Of course, if you’re in this situation, it’s normal that it can happen [he can be sacked],” he said.
“But again, it’s not something that I’m thinking about because then I lose also my focus on the players I want to work with, so it’s a question for other people.”
There had appeared to be some relief for Hayen when Burnley returned from the international break with a 4-0 victory at Watford. That ended a wait for a win inside 90 minutes stretching back to February, but their next two fixtures have brought fresh frustration.
Charlton Athletic snatched a late equaliser in a 2-2 draw at Turf Moor before Wolves overturned a deficit to win on Friday. That latest defeat extended Burnley’s wait for a home league victory beyond a year, with defensive mistakes again proving costly.
Supporters directed their anger towards chairman Alan Pace and the board, with a “Pace Out” banner displayed and chants calling for his departure. Hayen acknowledged the frustration afterwards and maintained that he shares the supporters’ desire to put things right.
“I didn’t come here to annoy them or to harm their club. I work really, really hard every single day to change this.”
“I think you saw the match plan, you saw the first half. But again, against individual mistakes, even I can’t change things if this happens. But okay, I know how it goes.”
For now, the expectation is that Hayen will be in the away dugout on Saturday, and the Burnley Express report does not describe the fixture as a formal ultimatum. Another defeat would, however, leave him with an even more difficult record to defend.
We have already seen at Preston how a loss against City can become the final act of a struggling manager’s reign. Hayen is expected to get his chance to avoid a repeat, but Burnley will arrive at Sincil Bank badly needing a result.
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