4 managers Burnley must consider ASAP after training ground update | OneFootball

Burnley are back in pre-season training, but they don't have a new manager in situ yet

After the 2025/26 Premier League campaign came to a close on May 24, interim Burnley boss Mike Jackson wouldn't have thought he'd have to take charge of the first week of pre-season at Turf Moor over a month later.

That's been the reality this week, though, as the Clarets' search for Scott Parker's successor has still not yet reached its conclusion.

There was an onus on ensuring that things were right behind the scenes at Burnley before they began advancing in their hiring process this summer, but even then, finding a man to lead the club into their third Championship campaign in five years has been messy, to say the least.

Craig Bellamy looked to be the man for Burnley towards the end of June, despite earlier reports stating he was staying put with the Wales national team. In the end, that's exactly what he did, with the fresh agreement falling through at the eleventh hour.

Former Wolves boss Rob Edwards has turned down the opportunity to immediately get back to work at Turf Moor, and now the players are back in training with no indication of who will be leading them into the new season.

It's time for Burnley to push on and find a new boss, and here are four people who should be on their shortlist.

Steve Cooper

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The most obvious choice out of the current field of managers, Steve Cooper is at the top of the bookmakers' odds for the next Burnley boss, and there's good reason why.

The 46-year-old has been out of management after leaving Brondby in May, and has enjoyed numerous successful campaigns in the dugouts of Championship clubs.

Cooper has never finished below a play-off place in any of his three seasons managing in the second tier at Swansea City and Nottingham Forest, the latter ending in Wembley success and Premier League promotion, despite the club being at the foot of the division when he took over.

He's also shown he's capable of keeping sides in the top-flight too, which Burnley desperately need if this season turns out to be as successful as their previous two forays into the Championship.

Kasper Hjulmand

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FLW's Burnley fan pundit spoke about moving for former Bayer Leverkusen boss Kasper Hjulmand in the wake of the Rob Edwards news, and if they could tempt the Dane across to the EFL, it would be a major coup.

Hjulmand's sole campaign in charge of Leverkusen may have been a slight letdown, but that's only due to the lofty expectations that have been on the club due to the brilliance of Xabi Alonso, which peaked with an invincible title-winning year in 2023/24.

The German side still finished in the top six and reached the round of 16 in the Champions League last term, and if a Championship club can snag the manager who oversaw that, it would give their promotion credentials a real boost.

Plus, the 54-year-old has had a good record elsewhere in his managerial career, too, both in Germany and Denmark, alongside being the Danish national team boss in their run to the semi-finals in Euro 2021.

Robbie Keane

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Former Tottenham Hotspur and Ireland striker Robbie Keane has been quietly laying down the foundations for a solid managerial career over the last few years in Israel and Hungary.

The 45-year-old led Ferencvaros to the Round of 16 in the Europa League last season, where they fell over two legs against Nottingham Forest, and won the Hungarian top flight with them the year before.

Granted, it's not been in elite divisions, but his win percentage as a manager stands at around 66.6% across 141 games, so there's clearly some talent in the dugout there, and it may be time for Keane to test his skills in the EFL.

Sean Dyche

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And finally, a choice that will definitely be popular amongst Burnley fans, and that's the return of Sean Dyche in the dugout.

The 55-year-old achieved near-legendary status in the decade he spent at Turf Moor between 2012 and 2022, bringing them back to the Premier League and then keeping them there against the odds for five seasons, including a seventh-placed finish in 2017/18.

The Clarets haven't been able to achieve stability since he departed four years ago, so perhaps a return for Dyche could go some way in finding that, with him being the last manager to keep Burnley in the top flight.

The popular manager has spoken about how he "doesn't know" which way Burnley will go this season in terms of their model and their chances back in the Championship. If they choose to bring him back, perhaps the only way would be back up.