'Not ideal' - Kyle Walker makes honest admission about Sheffield United's Championship rivals
Burnley have yet to appoint a new head coach since Scott Parker left the club back in April.
Former Sheffield United defender Kyle Walker has said time is of the essence in Burnley’s ongoing search for a new head coach, admitting the current situation is ‘not ideal’.
The Clarets, who will face the Blades at Bramall Lane in December, are still on the hunt for a new boss following Scott Parker’s exit more than two months ago. He left the club just days after their relegation from the Premier League was confirmed.
Burnley, who have established themselves as Championship promotion specialists in recent seasons by securing automatic promotion in each of their last four second tier campaigns, looked set to appoint Wales boss Craig Bellamy as their new boss last month, but the move collapsed despite talks having reached an advanced stage.
It means the Clarets, with just over a month to go until the start of the 2026/27 campaign, are in a state of limbo. Mike Jackson, who took caretaker charge for the final four games of the season, is currently overseeing the club’s pre-season plans.
Burnley will fly to the United States next week to step up their pre-season preparations, facing MLS side FC Cincinnati in their first friendly of the summer on July 11.
Amid the ongoing absence of a permanent head coach being in place, Walker, who is known to want to return to Bramall Lane before he retires from his playing career, has highlighted the importance of the Clarets hierarchy making an appointment sooner rather than later.
Speaking to talkSPORT, as quoted by the Burnley Express, Walker said: “No, we haven’t got a new manager as yet. Hopefully for the club and the players something can get sorted ASAP, because going into the season without a manager is not ideal.
“But hopefully they’re just waiting for the right person to come. We started pre-season last Monday just gone. Mike Jackson is still in charge and we’re just cracking on, getting the minutes in our legs and getting the fitness back in our legs, then we fly to America on Tuesday.”
Walker, who has attracted interest from the Blades in recent months, is preparing for what will be his first Championship campaign since spending time on loan at QPR during the 2010/11 season. He turned 36 in May, meaning he is accustomed to the physical demands of pre-season.
Walker continued: “Day one, they do a load of testing on your hamstrings and your quads, your calves and this, that and the other. I’d do the testing and get cramp.
“We did the yo-yo test as well. Anyone that knows the yo-yo test, it’s just a continuous run until you quit. But I finished middle of the pack at 36 years old, so I’ll take that.
“We had to do a bit of a football session after, so I was full of beans then. This is pre-season number 20 for me and it’s not great, but I think the older you get, the more you learn to manage yourself.
“The more lenient the coaches are with you, so if you don’t complete something or do the full thing, they say: ‘it’s okay, he’s 36’, whereas if you’re younger you do feel those nerves when you come into the building in the morning.
“It’s been good though. They manage it a bit better now.”