Nicky Hayen makes patience plea following Burnley's poor start to the season

Nicky Hayen has made a plea for patience from supporters following Burnley’s poor start to the season.

The Clarets sit inside the Championship’s bottom three following a winless start to the campaign that has seen them pick up just one point from their first three games.

They’ve also been unable to beat two League One sides in 90 minutes in the Carabao Cup, continuing their winless run - which stretches all the way back to February.

It’s prompted understandable anger from Burnley fans during the past two games, which has seen them be dumped out of the cup by Bradford City before that 4-1 horror show at Norwich City in the league.

When asked what his message was for fans following another demonstration of anger at the final whistle at Carrow Road, Hayen said: “Patience.

“I know it's really, really difficult after a season like last season and I know for now it's one win in 32 games, so I know how annoying it is and how disappointed they are.

“But like I said, you see that we have potential and we need time.

“So you see players like Zeki [Amdouni], who played last week his first game in 18 months, or his first 90 minutes in 18 months. These are players who will come back and the team will grow.

“Just to refer a little bit back to the recent history, two seasons ago [at the start under Scott Parker] it was difficult, four seasons ago [at the start under Vincent Kompany] it was difficult, but once the transfer window closes, you have your fixed team where you can work with.

“You don't have any distraction anymore, so no influence from outside and so actually I'm hoping now that's a fast Tuesday.”

Hayen also spoke about the need to change Burnley’s mentality as they settle back into life in the Championship.

“It’s also a switch in mindset,” he added.

“It's a remark in the dressing room that you know how difficult and brutal the Championship can be in terms of duels and second balls.

“Some players are still in the mindset, even if we assess it every day in the dressing room, this is the first thing that we have to do.

“That's what I said, I'm not talking about wins and losses, because this is something that you cannot influence, but going into that game like the first whistle, win every duel, win every second duel, play with a lot of energy, with intensity, and if we do already this, and you combine it with the football of the last 15 minutes in the first half, you will win a lot of games.

“This is the mindset that has to change with the players themselves, so we're pushing, but that's why I said, I will be really happy that we have more senior players who have that mentality, that mindset, to bring it in the dressing room.”