Burnley at risk of major promotion race setback amid issue Daniel Farke encountered at Leeds United

Leeds United rivals Burnley have already started pre-season training ahead of the new Championship season but their hunt for a new manager goes on. More than four weeks have now passed since Vincent Kompany opted to leave Turf Moor to join Bayern Munich and a host of names have been linked with the role since.

Frank Lampard was the early favourite but seems to have dropped out of the picture, while Scott Parker and Liam Rosenior have been strongly linked with the job, too. Ruud van Nistelrooy appeared the most likely to take the job last week, but the Dutchman now looks set to join up with Manchester United as part of Erik ten Hag's coaching staff. Current Mainz boss Bo Henriksen has played down suggestions that he was a candidate for the Clarets, too.

As such, with Burnley, who are still considered Leeds' strongest challengers for promotion, struggling to find the right man to appoint, players have been forced to start pre-season training without the direction of a head coach. Craig Bellamy, who is now the bookies favourite to claim the Turf Moor hot seat despite lack of experience, has taken sessions since the players returned to the training ground on Monday and he will continue to do so until a decision is made, it seems.

It's hardly the ideal start to life back in the Championship for Burnley and they ought to be aware of the issue Leeds faced last time around as they attempted to regather themselves after Premier League relegation. Of course, Leeds' circumstances were very different to Burnley's with the club going through the long and drawn out process of a takeover.

The 49ers Enterprises' purchase of the club wasn't officially approved until July 17 and that left plenty of things up in the air for much of the summer. The manager was the most important issue to contend with and it was clear for some time before his appointment that Daniel Farke was the man in the frame.

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However, the club couldn't officially appoint him until July 4, with the club a day into their short pre-season campaign by that point. The German only missed pre-season testing on day one, something the club's remaining fitness staff oversaw, and he managed to hit the ground running once he was formally in place.

The situation was far from perfect of course and it was made tougher by the mess Farke and the 49ers walked into with senior players leaving the club in their droves. Ultimately, Farke managed to steady the ship, patch up the squad and turn the club around on the field to launch a push for promotion, but that wasn't until after the September international break, with Leeds winning just one of their first five games back in the second tier.

Draws came at home against Cardiff City, West Bromwich Albion and Sheffield Wednesday, while the loss at Birmingham City was one of the lowest points of the season as Farke was left struggling to name a team. Only once the dust had settled on the transfer window did Farke manage to find real traction, but it's fair to say the points dropped inside that opening month probably cost Leeds a spot in the automatic promotion spots.

It was out of the hands of both Farke and the 49ers, but Leeds' slow start was the legacy of a turbulent pre-season and they now find themselves preparing for a second campaign in the Championship. Burnley's situation isn't quite as bad as Leeds'. The Clarets are expected to lose some players between now and deadline day, but the club look capable of keeping most of their group together with things looking steady off the field, too.

The Lancashire outfit will be more than aware though that with pre-season training underway, the longer they wait to make an appointment, the more likely it is that they could stutter on their return to the second tier. The Clarets couldn’t have been handed a tougher start either as they begin their season with a trip to Luton Town. That game is followed by matches against the likes of Sunderland, local rivals Blackburn Rovers and Leeds in the first five weeks.

Burnley’s start could have a huge knock-on effect down the line then, and they already find themselves at risk of entering the campaign undercooked.