Burnley FC's 5 worst managers ever (Ranked) - Laws = 2nd | OneFootball

FLW have picked out the Clarets' five worst bosses of all time based on points-per-game

Burnley have been champions of England twice and won the FA Cup once, but the club has endured as many lows as highs in their 142 years of existence since being founded in 1882.

The Clarets were one of the 12 founding members of the Football League in 1888, and have played in all four tiers of English football since then, with notably tough years in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

Burnley have certainly had a decent time of it in recent years compared to back then, with the likes of Sean Dyche and Vincent Kompany both leading the team to respective successes, and Scott Parker is now aiming to etch his name in club history with another promotion back to the top-flight.

Parker will want his points-per-game (PPG) to remain high as he looks for success at Turf Moor, and will not want to appear on this list, as we have picked out the five worst Burnley managers based on PPG since three points for a win was used in 1981.

Transfermarkt and Manager Stats have been used to make this list, and each manager must have been in charge of at least 10 games as Burnley boss to be considered.

John Bond took over at Turf Moor in June 1983 with the club newly relegated to the third tier for the first time in their history, but was unable to deliver on their high aims of an immediate promotion as his side finished 12th in his only campaign in charge.

He got off to a decent start with the Clarets with the club still in the promotion hunt midway through the season, but they lost eight of their last 10 games at the end of the campaign, and he left in August 1984 with a PPG record of 1.32.

4 Steve Cotterill

Steve Cotterill is well-known as a manager for his successes with the likes of Bristol City and Cheltenham Town, but he failed to achieve similar accomplishments during his three years at Turf Moor.

Cotterill replaced legendary boss Stan Ternent in the Burnley dugout in June 2004 with the club relatively steady in the Championship, but was never able to push on and take his side to the next level as many had expected him to.

The Clarets finished 13th and 17th in his two full seasons in charge, then he was sacked in November 2007 after just one win in ten games, and left with a PPG record of 1.28.

3 Chris Waddle

Much better remembered for his time as a player, Chris Waddle took his first managerial job in 1997 as he became player-coach at Burnley in the hope of turning their fortunes around in the third tier.

He was unable to do so, as they suffered a terrible start to the season under his guidance, but eventually found some form and narrowly avoided relegation by two points in 20th place on the last day of the campaign.

Waddle departed at the end of his only season in charge with a PPG record of 1.17, and his time at Turf Moor still stands as his only managerial job to date.

2 Brian Laws

Former Clarets' player Brian Laws' ill-fated spell in charge of the club came in 2010, but he was admittedly dealt a tough hand after being appointed off the back of Owen Coyle's shock departure to Bolton Wanderers with the club halfway through their first Premier League season.

Laws oversaw 15 losses in Burnley's 18 remaining Premier League games, as his side dropped from mid-table to the bottom three and were relegated back to the Championship with two matches still to go.

He was then tasked with getting the club back up to the top-flight, but was soon dismissed in December 2010 with the Clarets ninth in the Championship and a record of just 1.09 PPG.

1 John Benson

John Benson had a terrible time in charge of Burnley, and still remains the only manager to ever take the Clarets down to the fourth-tier after he was appointed in 1984.

He took over at short notice in their second successive season in the third-tier, and had a strong team for the league but was never able to shore up their defence properly, and some poor performances throughout the campaign saw his side win just eleven league games as they went down by one point.

Benson was sacked immediately after relegation due to his disastrous spell in the Turf Moor dugout, and to this day stands as Burnley's worst manager ever based on PPG, with a record of 1.03.