"I WANT TO PROVE MYSELF TO THE FANS" SAYS HAYEN

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Head Coach excited by challenge ahead

2026-07-13T22:34+01:00

"I WANT TO PROVE MYSELF TO THE FANS" SAYS HAYEN

Head Coach excited by challenge ahead

2026-07-13T22:34+01:00

"I WANT TO PROVE MYSELF TO THE FANS" SAYS HAYEN

New Clarets' Head Coach Nicky Hayen sat down for his first interview with the Club recently, where he talked about why the opportunity at Burnley appealed to him, what fans can expect from his team, and why building a strong connection between players and supporters is going to play a vital role in achieving success this season.

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS ON DAY ONE

“I got a really nice, warm feeling when I arrived. Everyone was really nice and polite.

“At my first training session I could see a lot of effort, a good mentality and this is something we can work on.

“My initial message was a chance for me to introduce myself and how I want us all to work together. This is something that’s really important to me. This Club is more than just one person.”

WHY BURNLEY

“I think the way I played the past few seasons, with Brugge and Genk, was the style of play that they were looking for.

“I know that I’m an unknown manager to some of the fans and I’m comfortable with that. First of all, I want to prove myself to the fans. In terms of what they can expect from me, I work really hard, I’m also from an environment where we had to work really hard so it’s a little bit comparable with how Burnley is.

“I want to play dominant football, with a lot of possession. But instead of playing around, I like to play vertical, try to attack as fast as possible, try to win and recover the ball as high as possible.

“Of course, you need the profile and the players to execute it. We know that we have the qualities to do it. With the coaching staff, with everyone involved, we want to bring a really good energy, first of all to the stadium and the training ground, so the fans can identify themselves with our team.”

PRE-SEASON

“Pre-season will be really valuable. We play strong competitors, so this means that we have to play at a really good level.

“The result is not always important in a pre-season but it’s a good test.

“The players have to show themselves, especially for the fans. I love that we play some friendly home games. We just want to show that we are a really good team and play every time with passion, with desire, and that come the end of the game, the fans are proud of how we played no matter what the result.

“We will do everything to win until the last second of the game.”

THE CHALLENGE AHEAD

“There’s a huge challenge to go back to the Premier League as fast as possible. The two previous managers were really successful so if I could have the same pathway as them that would be amazing. But I’m not going to compare myself to them, I chose my own pathway. That pathway brought me over here and it’s a privilege to be here.”

BUILDING A STRONG CONNECTION

“We will do everything on the pitch for let’s say 95 minutes, and we just ask for the support for 95 minutes in a positive way. I know it might not always be the things that they want and I hope we can deliver every time but just find a good synergy – that we can have a really good connection between the fans and the players. And if that connection is really strong at Turf Moor, we can achieve a lot, and this is something that I’m really looking forward to.”