Nicky Hayen Under Pressure: Burnley In Crisis After Bristol City Defeat
Burnley are bottom of the Championship, and Nicky Hayen's start as head coach is already under serious scrutiny after a 2-1 home defeat to Bristol City.
Aaron Ramsey had given the Clarets a 56th-minute lead at Turf Moor, but Bristol City hit back with an 82nd-minute Rob Dickie header before substitute Yu Hirakawa struck a stunning stoppage-time winner, sending Michael Skubala's side into the top four and leaving Burnley pointless from the game.
It means Burnley have still not won a Championship match this season, taking just two points from a possible 15 across five games, with three defeats, two draws, six goals scored and 12 conceded.
Burnley are 24th in the 24-team division, just a few months after dropping out of the Premier League, and frustration inside Turf Moor on Saturday was aimed as much at owner Alan Pace as it was at Hayen.
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How Bristol City Turned the Game Around
Burnley had looked on course for a first win of the season when Ramsey fired home from the edge of the box just after the hour mark, following a corner routine that saw the ball worked to him via Max Weiss.
But the home side could not hold on.
Dickie powered in a header from a Cardines corner in the 82nd minute, and Hirakawa - only just introduced from the bench - rifled in a brilliant strike from 25 yards in stoppage time to complete the turnaround.
It is the third time this season Burnley have failed to see out a lead, and the manner of the collapse - two goals conceded in the final eight minutes at home - has only intensified the questions being asked of Hayen's side.
A New Manager Inheriting an Old Problem
Hayen arrived from Belgian side Genk in July on a three-year deal, ending Burnley's 71-day search for a replacement for Scott Parker, who left by mutual consent at the end of April following relegation from the Premier League.
Chairman Alan Pace called it "a considered appointment that fits how we intend to run the club", with the stated aim of "a return to the Premier League on solid foundations".
Five games in, that foundation looks shaky. Burnley have drawn with Notts County and West Ham, and lost to West Brom, Norwich and now Bristol City, conceding 12 goals in the process - more than all but one other side in the division.
Hayen has been open about the scale of the task, telling the club's media before the season that he knows he is "an unknown manager to some of the fans" and wants to "prove myself" - but patience at Turf Moor, a club that has changed manager three times in under two years, is not unlimited.
What's Next for Hayen
There is no time to dwell on the Bristol City defeat.
Burnley are back in action on Tuesday, away to Wrexham, before a trip to Swansea the following Saturday.
A positive week could ease the pressure heading into the international break.
Anything less, and Burnley - and Hayen - risk being cut adrift at the bottom of the Championship before September is out.
