Burnley

Leeds United's 2-1 win at Brentford at the same time saw the Clarets leapfrogged by the Yorkshire side on matchday 38, ending their five-year stay in the division.

Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look back at Burnley's disappointing 2021-22 campaign, including statistics, standout moments and our final verdict.

SEASON OVERVIEW

Final league position: 18th

EFL Cup: Fourth round

FA Cup: Third round

Top scorer: Maxwel Cornet (9)

Most assists: Ashley Westwood (5)

Suffering relegation on the final day, sacking their long-serving manager, early cup exits - Burnley's 2021-22 season could not have gone too much worse.

Although the Clarets have always seemed to find a way to climb away from danger in the closing stages of recent seasons, this year proved to be different.

A slow start looks to have put the writing on the wall in the opening months of the campaign in hindsight, with a winless nine-game run in the league starting things off.

In fact, the 3-1 victory over Brentford on October 30 at Turf Moor was Burnley's first of the campaign, and despite an unexpected rest over the hectic Christmas period due to the cancellation of three consecutive fixtures, it remained their only success in a disastrous opening 21-game run.

In between, an EFL Cup exit to Tottenham Hotspur following success over Newcastle and Rochdale was understandable, but a third-round defeat to Championship side Huddersfield Town in the FA Cup summed up Burnley's approach to the cup competitions, as well as summing up their season overall.

Entering the final few months of the 2021-22 campaign, when Burnley usually spark into life and frustrate many with their end-of-season turnaround, impressive back-to-back victories over Brighton & Hove Albion and Tottenham in the Premier League in the middle of February looked to have kickstarted their annual survival bid.

However, tougher fixtures followed and the Clarets would only go on to win once more under Sean Dyche - a dramatic 3-2 comeback win over fellow strugglers Everton at Turf Moor on April 6.

Expected to follow that up with another positive result just four days later at an already-doomed Norwich City side, Burnley failed to do so, and a severely lacklustre display in a 2-0 defeat led to the club hierarchy making the hugely unexpected decision to relieve Dyche of his duties following nine-and-a-half years in the dugout.

Although surprising at the time, it was perhaps understandable given the club's predicament with more and more money being on the line when it comes to Premier League survival, and this Burnley side just did not look like the resilient one of years gone by.

Under-23s head coach Mike Jackson was given the task of overseeing the first team whilst the search for a new permanent boss went on, but after picking up a remarkable 10 points from his opening four games at the helm, the 48-year-old was given until the end of the season.

Jackson won the Premier League Manager of the Month award for April for his heroics, and with the Clarets climbing out of the bottom three as a result, he looked to have followed in Dyche's footsteps by keeping his side in the top flight.

However, just one point would follow in the remaining four games, concluding with the defeat to Newcastle on the final day, as Burnley's lack of investment compared to top-flight rivals finally took effect and they succumbed to a first relegation in six years.

PREMIER LEAGUE STATS

Wins: 7 (18th)

Draws: 14 (3rd)

Losses: 17 (7th)

Goals scored: 34 (=18th)

Goals conceded: 53 (11th)

Yellow cards: 68 (7th)

Red cards: 2 (=9th)

Passes: 12,317 (20th)

Shots: 407 (17th)

Big chances missed: 37 (=12th)

Saves: 129 (=4th)

Tackles: 589 (15th)

Own goals: 2 (=4th)

Hit woodwork: 15 (5th)

Clearances: 832 (2nd)

HOW DID IT COMPARE TO LAST SEASON?

With the 2021-22 season ending in relegation, it is fairly easy to say that this campaign was considerably worse than last year's.

Despite scoring one more goal and conceding two fewer at the other end, the Clarets finished this season on 35 points - four fewer than the total for 2020-21.

Had Burnley registered that tally last season, they would still have comfortably survived, with dreadful Premier League seasons for Sheffield United, West Bromwich Albion and Fulham seeing Burnley end 11 points clear of the drop despite a 17th-placed finish.

In comparison, had they recorded the 39 points registered last year in this season, it would have been enough to see them into a sixth successive year in the top flight, providing evidence to the fact that a slight drop off in standards in the Premier League can prove so costly.

An EFL Cup exit to Manchester City in round four was suffered in 2020-21 too, whilst Burnley also progressed two rounds in the FA Cup before an eventual exit to Bournemouth in the fifth round, meaning that the 2021-22 campaign was a decline on two fronts.

PLAYER OF THE SEASON - NICK POPE

Not many Burnley players can hold their heads too high following such a disappointing campaign overall, but one that certainly can is goalkeeper Nick Pope.

The England shot-stopper continued his consistent form during his sixth season at the club to earn the Clarets priceless points in so many outings once again.

The 30-year-old is sure to be targeted by many top-flight sides as a result of their relegation, with reports in recent days already suggesting that West Ham United and Fulham have registered an interest.

Averaging 3.4 saves per game, at a success rate of 72%, Pope recorded an impressive total of nine clean sheets in 36 Premier League appearances in the 2021-22 campaign, whilst committing just one error that directly led to an opposition goal.

Captain Ben Mee and fellow central defender James Tarkowski also had impressive seasons at the back once again, as did summer signing Cornet in attack, but Pope was the standout performer on a regular basis despite the team's overall struggles throughout the year.

STANDOUT RESULT

With only nine victories recorded across all competitions in the 2021-22 campaign, the shortlist for a standout result was very narrow indeed.

The three consecutive victories under Jackson were certainly contenders, with so much passion and fight on display in each of the wins under the caretaker boss.

However, the 3-2 win over fellow strugglers Everton at Turf Moor is our choice, which turned out to be Dyche's penultimate game of his nine-and-a-half year reign.

Having recorded just three league wins prior to it, Burnley welcomed Frank Lampard's Toffees to Turf Moor on April 6, with both teams in desperate need for all three points in their fight for survival.

Things started off excellently for the Clarets when Nathan Collins netted his first goal for the club inside the opening 18 minutes, but two first-half penalties from Richarlison saw the game turned on its head before the break.

Dyche's men refused to lie down though, and after Jay Rodriguez equalised just before the hour mark, Cornet netted a dramatic late winner five minutes from time to swing the tie back the other way and spark jubilant scenes in Lancashire.

BEST MOMENT

In a season of very few highs, there were not too many to choose from here, but many of the few bright moments that did arrive were during Jackson's temporary reign in the dugout.

The 48-year-old had only had brief experience as the main man prior to his caretaker spell at the end of this season, so to be able to win the Premier League's Manager of the Month award following an unbeaten first four games was an incredible achievement.

For this reason, that award is the standout moment, as Jackson took on the hugely difficult task of following in the footsteps of a club legend in the form of Dyche, and performed admirably.

Jackson had no transfer window to bring in his own players, and took on a squad severely lacking in confidence, but he got Burnley playing back to basics and came within a whisker of keeping them in the top flight.

Any of his three wins in charge - over Southampton, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Watford - could have been chosen as the best moment of their season, as Jackson managed to reignite their slim hopes of survival despite the odds being hugely against him.

TOP PRIORITY FOR SUMMER

Following on from the previous section, Burnley's top priority this summer has to be addressing the managerial vacancy as swiftly as possible.

A decision over Jackson's future needs to be made first and foremost, as it seems unlikely that he will be handed the reins on a permanent basis at this stage.

The new manager needs to be in place as soon as possible, with numerous out-of-contract players' futures to address, and a refresh of the squad desperately required ahead of a promotion push from the Championship.

Finances could be an issue, with Premier League relegation meaning that a significant loan repayment is required as a result of the club's controversial takeover via a leveraged buyout back in 2020.

First-team stars such as Pope, Cornet, Dwight McNeil and Wout Weghorst are likely to be moved on in order to cover the hefty outlay, as well as the huge drop in revenues, but a new boss is surely the priority before the remaining preparations can fall into place.

FINAL VERDICT

Quite simply, it has been an awful campaign for Burnley, but it is one that they have been close to suffering for several years since their return to the top flight back in 2015-16.

Dyche was afforded very small transfer budgets in comparison to the rest of the division during his years in charge, meaning his job was always a difficult one when it came to Premier League solidity.

The lack of investment finally caught up with the Clarets in the 2021-22 campaign, and this summer looks to be the biggest in their recent history.

A lack of quality, particularly in the offensive department, has cost them their place in the Premier League, as their admirable fight and resilience were not enough to save Burnley from a disappointing relegation.