Nicky Hayen discusses mindset of Burnley players left out of squad list

Nicky Hayen insists he’s got no complaints with the attitude shown by the players who have been left out of Burnley’s 25-man squad list.

With the Clarets unable to include every individual in the building due to the club’s bloated squad, eight players were omitted from the final cut.

Ben Amos, Jordan Beyer, Bashir Humphreys, Shurandy Sambo, Marcus Edwards, Mike Tresor, Ashley Barnes and Michael Obafemi were those not officially registered.

But with one spot left free in Burnley’s final squad list, Hayen has tasked those players to train as hard as possible to earn themselves a place back in the side.

Burnley had briefly explored the free agent market, but Hayen - speaking yesterday ahead of Saturday’s clash against Derby County - revealed it was now looking unlikely they would bring anyone else in.

That means one of the above names, most likely Edwards or Tresor, are expected to be added back in during the coming “hours or days”.

“They're training with the group [as normal],” Hayen confirmed, of the omitted players.

“So they can train as long as they show the right mindset and motivation. At this moment, I can't complain about them.”

When asked if it’s difficult for the players to show the right mindset when they might not play any football until January, Hayen added: “Yes and no, because there were already players who experienced it in the past.

“We still have a spot available, so we have to make a decision quite in the short notice. We're just picking the players who really want to show it.”

There’s also a possibility that two players could be added back in, if someone - such as Hannibal - was withdrawn from the initial squad.

But Burnley would have to prove the midfielder, who is expected to be out for three to four months with a hamstring injury, is definitely out until January.

The Clarets could certainly do with strengthening at right wing, having lost Jacob Bruun Larsen, Aaron Ramsey and Dastan Satpayev to injury in recent weeks.

It prompted Hayen to move Oliver Sonne forward from right-back to right-wing during both of Burnley’s last two games.

“Of course, we tried to find solutions and Rambo [Ramsey] did actually quite well there against Bristol City,” he said. “He scored and he did actually quite well.

“It's unfortunate that he's out, but we have to look for another solution.”