Former EFL striker Charlie Austin has issued a warning to Burnley, West Ham United, and Wolverhampton Wanderers following their inconsistent openings to the current Championship season.

In recent years, we’ve seen a number of Premier League demoted sides quickly establish themselves as Championship promotion hopefuls.

However, only one of the three freshly demoted sides from 2024/25 was able to gain first-time promotion, with Ipswich Town, while Southampton were barred from competing in the play-off final due to the Spygate scandal, and Leicester City were relegated to League One.

Regardless, many had identified West Ham as pre-season title favourites after the Hammers were relegated with 39 points on the last day of last season, and they have kept many big-name players despite the high-profile sales of Mateus Fernandes and Crysencio Summerville.

Meanwhile, there has been more change at Turf Moor and Molineux, particularly on the managerial front, as Nicky Hayen and Cesar Peixoto embark on their maiden experiences in the English game, but it has not been easy so far.

Charlie Austin issued an EFL Championship warning to Burnley, West Ham, and Wolves.

Austin, 37, is already retired, but he had a successful career in the Championship, gaining promotions with Queens Park Rangers and West Bromwich Albion in 2014 and 2020, respectively.

With the division undergoing a revamp ahead of the current season, which means six play-off spots are now available rather than four, there will be plenty of teams vying for a promotion to the Premier League.

However, after four games, the newly relegated sides have only three wins between them, with West Ham opening the scoring against Wolves with a 4-2 victory on Tuesday, while the Old Gold have defeated Preston North End and Stoke City, and Austin’s former club, Burnley, remain winless.

On his YouTube series, Chaz Kicks Off, the former striker praised West Ham’s 4-2 victory over Wolves, stating that it was a crucial win.These two teams have quality, but can they sustain their performance for 46 or 49 games?There are so many tough places to visit. “It will be interesting to see how those two sides react,” he said.

“I need to talk about my old club, Burnley. I posted a tweet recently, but after watching 10 minutes of these on TV, I found them really disturbing.The dullness. “I feel sorry for the Turf Moor fans,” Austin said.

West Ham and Wolves will look to gain momentum ahead of the international break.

After a dismal start, which included calls for Nuno’s sacking following last weekend’s 1-1 draw at Watford, West Ham will hope their first league win of the season marks a turning point ahead of the season’s first international break, which lasts nearly three weeks.

Between now and then, the Hammers will face Derby County, Bolton Wanderers, Wrexham, and Millwall, with the latter in particular promising to be a test of their willpower due to the two clubs’ longstanding rivalry.

The same can be said for Wolves, who will look to bounce back from their first defeat under Peixoto with a West Midlands derby victory over Birmingham City at St. Andrew’s on Sunday, followed by two more fascinating games against Sheffield United and West Brom, the latter of which is sold out at Molineux.

Charlie Austin’s burnley concerns are understandable.

Meanwhile, Austin is not the only one concerned about Turf Moor developments, despite an eventful Deadline Day that saw Largie Ramazani and Reo Hatate join the club.

After just four games, only Preston North End are behind the Clarets, and they are the only team to have conceded a double-digit number of goals thus far. They have also lost star attacker Zian Flemming to Ipswich Town for £20 million.

Zian Flemming’s Burnley league numbers

Season

Appearances and Goals

Assists

2024-25 (championship)

35 12 4

2025–26 (Premier League)

29

11

0

2026–27 (Championship)

2 2

Despite a 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough on Wednesday, Burnley’s recent Championship success may lead to Hayen’s dismissal if he fails to improve the team’s performance.