Burnley have appointed former Basel and CSKA Moscow manager Fabio Celestini as their new head coach, with the Championship club turning to the Swiss after dismissing Nicky Hayen.
Hayen was removed from his position after only 14 league matches in charge. His departure followed last Saturday’s 4-1 defeat by Lincoln City, a result which left Burnley in the Championship relegation zone.
The Clarets have won just one league match since being relegated – a 4-0 victory against Watford in early October. They are currently 17 points behind leaders Middlesbrough and 12 points from the final play-off place.
Celestini’s first match will be at home to Portsmouth on Saturday, when he will begin the task of reviving Burnley’s hopes of returning to the Premier League. The game will be played at Turf Moor.
The 50-year-old enjoyed major domestic success with Basel in 2024-25, guiding the club to the Swiss Super League and Swiss Cup double. After moving to Russia last year, he also won the Russian Super Cup with CSKA Moscow.
He subsequently left CSKA after a poor run of results ended their challenge for the title.
Celestini said on Burnley’s official website: “I look at Burnley and I see a club with big potential and players with real quality, who can help us achieve our supporters’ ambitions.
“I know the situation we are in, and I have lived it before. Our supporters deserve to see a team playing with belief from the first whistle.”
Before taking charge of CSKA Moscow, Celestini had worked exclusively in the lower divisions of Italian football and in Switzerland. His previous clubs included Terracina, Lausanne-Sport, Lugano, Luzern and Sion.
The former Switzerland midfielder faces an immediate challenge to end Burnley’s long wait for a home league victory. The club have not won a league match at Turf Moor since beating Leeds United in the top flight on 18 October 2025.
Failure to defeat Portsmouth would leave Burnley on the brink of an unwanted record. Sheffield Wednesday currently hold the longest home league winless run in England’s top four divisions, having gone 376 days without a victory between April 2025 and May 2026.
Burnley could overtake that mark this weekend if they fail to claim three points.
