The verdict on Burnley’s collapse at Lincoln City

Perhaps the most damning assessment of Burnley’s heavy defeat at Lincoln City is how predictable it all was.

While such a heavy scoreline was perhaps not anticipated, can we really say it’s a major surprise that Burnley failed to stand up to a constant barrage of pressure? Not really.

Are we shocked they simply wilted as soon as they suffered a setback? Not at all. Can we honestly say we expected Burnley’s superior quality to show for a full 90 minutes, when we’ve been given no evidence whatsoever this season that should be the case? You get the drift.

The only real surprise is that it took a good couple of hours or so for Nicky Hayen’s sacking to be confirmed, because you don’t survive defeats like this. Not with all that has come before it.

Some might scoff at Lincoln’s somewhat agricultural approach, but at this particular moment in time - nine years on from THAT FA Cup upset as a non-league side - the Imps are everything Burnley are not.

They’re sensibly and well run, for a start. But on the pitch, they’re structured, they run all day, they’re committed to the cause and each and every player knows exactly what they’re doing.

There’s no airs and graces, they know exactly what they are and what they have to do to defy the odds in the Championship, somewhere they’ve not been since 1961.

They don’t possess anything resembling Burnley’s quality, but as the old saying goes, hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.

Lincoln were just all wrong for Burnley. All they had to do was get cross after cross into Gregoire Coudert’s box, or corner after corner or long throw after long throw, and you just knew Hayen’s side would give up chances.

Even then, the nature of Burnley’s collapse after the restart was somewhat alarming, even by their own low standards this season.

The first-half wasn’t a great half of football, if we’re being honest. The rotten conditions didn’t help, but there wasn’t a great deal on offer from either side.

Burnley shaded it in terms of chances created, despite not playing particularly well, with Max Alleyne having a shot cleared off the line and the Lincoln goalkeeper thwarting Dastan Satpayev with his legs.

The visitors managed to edge their noses in front via a set-piece, which was ironic in itself given the two side’s reputations from dead ball situations. But it was an excellent, teasing cross from Lucas Pires and early substitute Andreas Hountondji really couldn’t miss.

At that point, the Clarets just had to see things out until half-time. They only had six minutes, plus a few added on, surely they could manage? It wasn’t like the Imps were exactly battering the door down.

No, no they could not. Instead, they failed to deal with a long throw into their box - delivered illegally, for the record - allowing the ball to bounce not once, but twice and gifting Ben House a simple finish at the back post.

As we’ve seen time and time again already this season, Burnley don’t react well to a knock back. Not in the slightest - they’ve now lost an incredible 18 points from losing positions - but this was something else.

Within the space of eight second-half minutes, between minutes 49 and 57, they were 4-1 down.

The ‘defending’ was an absolute abomination. I'm talking basic Under-8 stuff like clearing your lines. But what was most alarming was the lack of heart on show, it was spineless, gutless stuff, as poor as we’ve seen this season. It was as weak a surrender as you’re likely to see.

That’s the biggest concern for me and has been for a while now. Whenever a new manager arrives, we could well see a change of tact, a more pragmatic approach, a new system and new patterns of play. But what you can’t change quickly is your players’ mentality, and in that regard, Burnley are sorely lacking.

Hayen paid the ultimate penalty and he can have no complaints with his dismissal, despite being far from the only problem at Turf Moor.

But the Clarets face a long road ahead to ensure, let’s face it, they’re still a Championship side this time next season.

That’s not an alarmist, clickbait-driven claim, it’s based on a deep concern for where this club is heading, both on and off the pitch. The signs are there for everyone to see in plain sight, it’s not like they’re being well hidden.

I mean, just take a quick look at the away end towards the end of the game. You had a North Korea flag, the same “Pace Out” banner that was forced to be taken down during the Wolves game last week, a similar message emblazoned across a USA flag and another large bedsheet with anti-ALK Capital messaging written on it.

Then there were the chants: “you’re getting sacked in the morning”, which proved to be wrong in timeline only, “you’re not fit to wear the shirt” and “Alan Pace, get out of our club” amongst others, but of a similar tone.

If Lincoln are a club that is completely aligned, with everyone pulling in the same direction, Burnley are the exact opposite. It’s a club divided.