Burnley Secures Cup Win Under Nicky Hayen's Leadership

Nicky Hayen walked off the Turf Moor pitch on Saturday night with relief written all over his face. Not perfection. Not dominance. Relief.

Burnley are in the second round of the Carabao Cup after edging past Notts County 4-3 on penalties, the tie locked at 1-1 after 90 minutes. It was scruffy at times, nervy at others, but for a new manager chasing his first foothold in English football, it was exactly what he needed: a win, a noise, a spark.

Now comes West Ham United. Now comes the real scrutiny.

Atmosphere first, everything else follows

Hayen has made no secret of his first big target. Before tactics, before table talk, he wants Turf Moor alive again.

"It's good for the atmosphere," he said, speaking to the club’s website after the shoot-out. The word kept coming back: atmosphere. You could see why. The dressing room, he pointed out, was full of smiling faces. That matters to him. He wants to carry that mood straight into next Sunday’s Championship opener.

Next weekend, Turf Moor will be sold out. A big club, a big test, a new era in front of a full house. Hayen knows that connection between players and supporters cannot be manufactured with slogans. It has to be earned in the way his side plays, in how long they run, in how stubbornly they stay in games.

"We have to bring that energy into the stadium by delivering performances," he insisted. Ninety-five minutes. Sleeves rolled up. No hiding. He wants a Burnley side the fans can recognise as their own from first whistle to last, even on the bad days.

A flawed win, but a win all the same

The performance against Notts County will not make any season review DVDs. Hayen did not pretend otherwise.

"I'm happy to go through to the next round of the cup, this is the most important," he said. "At the end that's what counts."

Then came the honesty. It was "an average performance". Too slow at times. Too sloppy. Too arrogant, even.

Burnley started brightly, the first 20 minutes played with the sort of dominance Hayen wants as standard. They pressed high, won the ball back in good areas, set the tempo. Then the edge slipped. Organisation went. The running stopped. The game drifted.

When Notts County scored, panic crept in. That, for Hayen, was the real warning sign. At half-time he demanded more: better structure, higher intensity, a return to the level he believes this squad can hit.

The response after the break was sharper. Burnley found a stronger spell in the opening 15 minutes of the second half and drew level through Zian Flemming. They pushed for a second, tried to turn pressure into chances, but never quite carved out enough. The game went to penalties, where goalkeeper Max Weiss emerged as the hero, sealing a 4-3 shoot-out win.

No one inside Turf Moor will mistake that for a statement performance. But for a new manager, a cup tie that could easily have turned ugly instead became a platform.

Old favourites back in the fold

If the result brought relief, the team sheet brought something close to optimism. Connor Roberts, Aaron Ramsey and Zeki Amdouni all returned to action, a significant boost ahead of the league campaign.

"You can see they are loved by the fans," Hayen said. The reaction from the stands told its own story. These are players who have made an impact here before, and he intends to tap into that credit.

The plan is simple: minutes now, more minutes later. Day by day, game by game, their load will increase. Saturday was a first step, and they came through it well. For a squad that looked thin and short of rhythm at times last season, those returns matter almost as much as the result.

Hayen spoke of continuing "the way we are working at the moment" – a hint that, behind the scenes, he is satisfied with the direction, if not yet the execution.

West Ham on the horizon

All of this funnels into one afternoon: West Ham at a sold-out Turf Moor, Hayen’s first Championship game in charge.

The job now is clear. Cut out the sloppiness. Lose the arrogance. Keep the aggression of those opening 20 minutes, stretch it across the full 95, and match the supporters’ appetite with the team’s effort.

Burnley have their win. They have their smiles. They have key players back on the pitch.

Next weekend will show whether that early flicker of atmosphere can turn into something far more powerful.