Burnley FC manager news: Rob Edwards snub, Steve Clarke talks eyed | OneFootball

All the latest news surrounding Burnley's search for a new head coach

Burnley’s players are returning for pre-season with no permanent head coach in place.

The Clarets dismissed Scott Parker when their relegation from the Premier League was confirmed in April, with the team finishing 19th in the table.

The Lancashire outfit will be aiming to earn promotion back to the top flight, having finished inside the top two in the Championship in both 2023 and 2025.

Burnley already know that they will be hosting West Ham on 16 August in their opening fixture of the new campaign, with the Hammers also suffering relegation from the Premier League.

However, it remains unclear who will be in the dugout for the club when Nuno Espirito Santo’s side travel to Turf Moor.

Here we look at all the latest news surrounding Burnley’s search for a new head coach.

Rob Edwards decision

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Rob Edwards was in line to take over at Burnley, but it has been reported by talkSPORT that he has turned down the offer from the club.

The 43-year-old is currently out of work after being suddenly dismissed by Wolves earlier this month.

He oversaw the team’s relegation to the Championship after being appointed in November, with the team already cut adrift at the bottom of the table at the time of his arrival.

But he is not in any rush to jump into the first management opportunity he’s given, with Edwards rejecting an approach from the Clarets.

Burnley appointment timeline

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Burnley’s players have returned for pre-season after enjoying a break following their relegation.

But no manager has been appointed, which has left Mike Jackson still in charge for the time being.

It has been reported by the Burnley Express that the first few days are set to just involve fitness work, so nothing major is being missed.

The Lancashire outfit are now hoping to act quickly in order to get a fresh appointment confirmed in the next few days.

Steve Clarke talks

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It has been reported by Football Insider that West Ham are seeking talks with former Scotland manager Steve Clarke regarding the head coach vacancy.

The 62-year-old has left his role with the Scotland national team following their disappointing World Cup campaign, where the team was eliminated from the group stages.

Clarke has not worked in club management since a stint with Kilmarnock from October 2017 to May 2019, having been in charge of Scotland in the seven years since.

And it's believed he could be offered an immediate path back to English football, with Burnley seeking an interview with Clarke.

Craig Bellamy stumbling block

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Craig Bellamy was also close to being appointed as the next first team head coach at Turf Moor, having previously been an assistant during Vincent Kompany’s time in charge.

However, it was reported by journalist Alex Crook that a disagreement over his backroom staff led to him backing out of the deal.

The Football Association of Wales were expecting him to leave his role as their head coach in order to move to Burnley.

But the move has now collapsed due to this disagreement regarding Bellamy’s coaching staff.

Kevin Nolan’s “strange” Burnley search claim

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Following the collapse of Burnley’s pursuit of Bellamy, Kevin Nolan claimed that the club’s search for Parker’s successor has been strange.

He believes that the club put all of their eggs in the 46-year-old’s basket, and he hopes that they have something quick lined up now that their search is back to square one.

“Yeah and I find that incredible,” said Nolan, via Sky Sports.

“I think it's quite an unusual thing to see, isn't it?

“Normally when a manager leaves, within a week or two we have a new manager in place or a head coach, so yeah, it's been very strange.

“It looked like they wanted Craig Bellamy, so they put all the eggs in one basket and it hasn't worked out, so hopefully they've got a plan B.”