Plenty to work on for Clarets after defeat in final US friendly

Nicky Hayen provided an honest verdict on Burnley’s defeat to Real Salt Lake in the final friendly of their US tour.

The Clarets signed off their time Stateside with a 4-1 defeat to their MLS opposition during the early hours of Thursday morning.

It was Hayen’s first game in the dugout, having taken a watching brief for the previous two friendlies against FC Cincinnati and Columbus Crew, and the Clarets boss admitted afterwards there’s plenty to work on.

“We played against a good competitor,” he told reporters during a post-match press conference.

“But we wanted to play a certain style, try to press them high and this is something that I learned today, that not everyone was involved, that we left too much space between the lines.

“They found easier solutions, we didn't play compact enough and then, of course, you play between the lines and then you create or you concede chances and that's quite normal.

“In possession, it was not good enough, we were not comfortable. We didn't find the right solutions, even where we knew they were pressing.

“But of course, we’ve been here for 10 days and this is the third game in five or six days. We couldn't train properly, we had to travel with the conditions.

“These are no excuses, but of course, we're in the second week. We still have four weeks to go and within 14 days, it will be totally different.”

When asked if the altitude may have had an impact, Hayen added: “It's possible. Probably it's possible. If everyone says it, then our team will say the same.

“But like I said, I don't hide behind excuses. We just have to do better.

“But we're just in week number two, we have four weeks left. We're going to work from Monday really, really hard every single day and we're just going to improve.”