Burnley have fired manager Nicky Hayen after a 4-1 Championship defeat at Lincoln.

Hayen was unable to prevent the Clarets from suffering their sixth defeat in 12 games on Saturday.

Burnley, who were only demoted from the Premier League last season, are already in the relegation zone.

Their loss to newly promoted Lincoln, in another game in which they took the lead, drops them to 22nd place in the second division, having won only one game this season.

And Burnley, who have not won at home since October 2025 – the longest skid in England’s top four leagues – lost no time in announcing Hayen’s dismissal just hours after their most recent defeat.

A club statement read: “Burnley Football Club has terminated Head Coach Nicky Hayen with immediate effect.

“The Board has taken the decision following a disappointing start to the Championship season.”

According to talkSPORT, Kenny Miller is one of the candidates being considered by Burnley for the currently empty role, with the Sotsman excelling as manager of Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Hayen’s dismissal comes shortly after he told talkSPORT that his future with the club is uncertain, and he also apologised to fans.

After the defeat, what did Hayen say to Lincoln?

When asked if he is concerned about being fired after the match, Hayen replied, “Fear? I understand how things work in football, especially given the recent outcomes.

“I spoke with the owner last week in terms of the injuries that we had and the upcoming game, and also that we had a good training week.”However, for one reason or another, we are unable to bring the same level of excellence to the game as we do on the training pitch.

“That’s a little bit of a shame because the boys deserve much better and that is unfortunately the reality.”

When asked if he expects to remain in his job as manager, he replied, “Yes, of course you desire to continue. “But I know how it goes.”I apologise for the large number of supporters in attendance.Even apologising to them won’t change the fact that we’ve suffered a significant loss. I understand their frustration and accept it.Absolute disaster.
Hayen spoke candidly about his and Burnley’s disappointing start to the Championship season, but it wasn’t enough to save his job.

Following the Lincoln defeat, Burnley icon Ben Mee said that the manager’s fate was sealed.

On talkSPORT’s GameDay Live, Mee, who made 367 appearances for the Clarets, stated: “Absolute disaster today.”The group’s mentality and quality seem to be a common theme this season, as they capitulated despite being 1-0 up.When a team loses a goal, players may question their mentality and desire to stay with the club.I believe there are players in there who were hoping to go in the summer but did not get the chance; their heads and attention aren’t quite there.

“The manager’s gone in and maybe taken over a squad that’s not as together as what he would have liked.”He’s going to find out, and I think he’ll bear the brunt of it.”