Burnley’s pre-season kicks off today

Burnley’s players return to Gawthorpe today for the start of pre-season.

Thirty-six days on from the final game of last season, the 1-1 draw against Wolves, the Clarets are back at HQ to begin their preparations for the 2026/27 Championship campaign.

Burnley find themselves back in the second tier following a dismal season in the Premier League, finishing second bottom with just 22 points to their name.

It raises the prospect of a campaign in the Championship, where Burnley will be keen to guide themselves to yet another memorable promotion - having finished in the top two with 100 points or more on their last two seasons in the division.

Burnley find themselves in the unique position of beginning pre-season without a manager at the helm, following Scott Parker’s departure by mutual consent at the end of April.

Two months on, the club are yet to make an appointment. It looked as though Craig Bellamy would be that man last week, but the club’s former assistant performed a U-turn and now looks set to remain in his position as Wales boss.

Fresh reports also emerged last night suggesting ex-Wolves boss Rob Edwards had also turned them down.

First-team coach Mike Jackson took charge of Burnley’s final four games of last season following Parker’s departure and will likely continue that role in the absence of a permanent head coach.

But the first couple of days of pre-season will be fitness based, with returning players going through medical checks and testing.

Burnley will be hoping to make a swift appointment, however, with their first friendly - against FC Cincinnati as part of their US tour - now only 11 days away.

The Clarets also take on Columbus Crew and Real Salt Lake while they’re Stateside, before returning to East Lancashire to continue their preparations.

Burnley make the trip to Amsterdam at the end of July to face Ajax, before hosting Alan Pace’s ‘other’ club Espanyol a few days later.

Burnley’s season, meanwhile, kicks off over the weekend of August 7-9 when they take on League One newcomers in the first round of the Carabao Cup.

The following weekend, fellow relegated side West Ham are the visitors to Turf Moor for Burnley’s first league game of the season.

Not all of Burnley’s players will be present today, with Axel Tuanzebe, Hjalmar Ekdal, Zeki Amdouni and Lyle Foster still in action at the World Cup.

While Shurandy Sambo and Hannibal are on their way home after their respective countries were knocked out in the group stage, they’ll now be given extra time off before making their return.