Nicky Hayen’s verdict on Burnley’s 2-1 friendly defeat to Ajax

Nicky Hayen was pleased with the “courage” his Burnley side showed during their narrow friendly defeat to Ajax.

The Clarets showed plenty of encouraging signs as they went toe-to-toe with the Dutch giants on their own patch at the Johan Cruyff Arena this afternoon.

While Ajax came out on top with a 2-1 victory, the Clarets were more than a match for their Eredivisie opponents, especially during the first-half where they put on an impressive showing.

While Hayen knows there’s still plenty of improvements to make, the 45-year-old took plenty of positives from his side’s performance.

“Very encouraging,” he told the Burnley Express. “I think encouraging is the right word.

“We played with courage, we saw it all from the six-yard box. We played under their pressure and we found the solutions, but at a certain moment they are going to adapt.

“This is actually the next step, or the next phase. This is something that we have to learn.

“We found the solution, but the quality, we didn't execute it quite well. But by repeating it and doing it every single day again, we become better, the quality becomes better. But I think we showed really encouraging stuff today.

“Of course, we play against strong opposition, but it's not bad because we were looking for all the answers. But how do we react when they switch in the formation?

“Players need to communicate more, that's why I didn't like the second goal. We actually have a 5v3 situation, a plus-two organisation. There's no communication, one player gets the ball and they score. So this is actually impossible, but it's better that it happens now, that we can show the clips.

“We know the communication has to be better, taking initiative, taking responsibility. But I hate losing and no one likes it, but I can put it today in a certain perspective because you play against an opponent who plays Champions League level, even the players who don't play a lot, they have a lot of quality, you saw it in the game.

“But we managed quite well and it looks good for the future.”