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Opinion: Burnley's Championship prospects difficult to gauge ahead of West Ham opener Why it’s hard to predict how Burnley will perform in the Championship this season On the eve of a new season, supporters generally tend to have some sort of idea how their side will do. Rewind the clocks to this time last year and every single Burnley fan knew Scott Parker’s men were in for a relegation scrap before a ball was even kicked. Heading back to the Championship, you’d be forgiven for thinking the constant yo-yoing will simply continue for another season and the up-down-up-down will earn another ‘up’. But for Burnley, who kick off their campaign against West Ham this afternoon, it’s tricky to gauge - at this point at least - exactly how they will do. That might seem like a bit of a bizarre take given the Clarets are coming off back-to-back 100-point+ campaigns at this level and have lost just five of their last 115 Championship games. In recent times, Burnley have proven themselves far too strong for this division. Promotion is the expectation, a challenge has to be the bare minimum. That’s a given. But having not won a game of any kind (in 90 minutes, at least) since February, with their last home league win coming over 300 days ago, a new manager who brings new methods at the helm and in the process of yet another squad churn, there’s absolutely no guarantee of another memorable promotion. That’s not to be defeatist, because of course promotion contention has to be the expectation. Burnley are masters at this level, in recent history at least, and they still have the quality to be pushing towards the top. But at this moment in time, with two weeks of the transfer window remaining and still plenty of business to do, there’s also a lot of uncertainty and a lot of questions still to be answered that makes predicting what will happen this season a fool’s errand. After all, look what happened to Leicester City last year. They’re now lining up in League One, 10 years on from their unfathomable Premier League triumph and five years on from their FA Cup win. Things can change very quickly in football. Just because Burnley’s journey has been relatively predictable in recent years, doesn’t mean it’ll always be that way. Case in point, the Clarets were a stable Premier League side not too long ago, experts at avoiding relegation under Sean Dyche and even qualifying for Europe one season. But that stability is now long gone. Looking back to last season again for a second, Ipswich Town and Southampton - who both ended up in the promotion shake-up, with the former finishing in the top two - both endured slow starts to the campaign. A slow start is the last thing Burnley need, because this looks like a tougher Championship than ever. West Ham and Wolves are either equals or superior to Burnley in financial terms, while both Southampton and Middlesbrough look very well placed to compete. There’s a handful of other sides, too, that can’t be discounted. Subscribe now for HALF PRICE and catch every minute of our Clarets coverage this season - from pre-season to the final whistle. Click here The extended play-offs - a ridiculous notion in my view, for what it counts - adds another lifeline should this season not go as initially hoped, but another automatic promotion has got to be the aim. But what has become clear over pre-season, and moving into the season opener in the cup last weekend, is that Burnley don’t look particularly ready to hit the ground running and it’s going to take time for the players to learn Hayen’s methods. While that was also the case under Scott Parker two years ago, his approach was clearly built on creating solid foundations, structure and organisation, hence why we got the splurge of let’s be honest, pretty dour football and frustrating goalless draws during the opening months of the season. Hayen, however, has made it clear he wants to adopt a more positive, brave, adventurous, forward-thinking style, which, while music to the ears of Burnley fans, is likely to take more time to implement. The big takeaway from the Notts County game was how the players soon returned to their old habits - playing with caution and with the handbrake on - when the game wasn’t going their way. That’s clearly not how Hayen wants to play, but it won’t be an overnight transition. That will take weeks, if not months, to truly come to fruition. But do Burnley really have that time on their side? They’re not exactly helped by having such a tough start, either. Not just title favourites West Ham first up, but West Brom, Norwich, Middlesbrough, Bristol City and Wrexham represents a tough run on paper - the third hardest start of any Championship side, according to Opta. During that run of games, we can expect Burnley’s side to change quite a bit too. Max Alleyne and Dastan Satpayev look like two exciting young additions to join Ugo Raghouber, but at the time of writing they’re the only three incomings that are likely to impact the starting XI this season. More is required. Going the other way, meanwhile, has been Maxime Esteve, Quilindschy Hartman, Florentino Luis, Lesley Ugochukwu, Jaidon Anthony, Luca Koleosho and Loum Tchaouna. However those names might have performed in the Premier League last season, that’s still a lot of talent to lose in one summer and not to be fully replaced…yet. In truth, a lot depends on what transpires in the market over the next fortnight. Currently, I suspect the squad is lacking a little in players you can truly hang your hat on - the type that can guarantee you consistency over 35/40/45 games in the Championship. It’s also quite clear they need another backup goalkeeper, potentially a first-choice left back and another wide forward. That’s just the bare minimum, assuming there are no more departures, which, I’m sure we can all agree, seems unlikely. And while a summer squad churn, especially in the wake of a top flight relegation, is nothing new for Burnley, it brings its own challenges and uncertainties. To repeat, just because it’s worked out in the past, doesn’t mean that will always be the case. All in all, it creates an uncertain picture at Turf Moor. And given the club’s financial situation and the potential ramifications of not securing another instant Premier League return, it feels like a hugely significant season in store for Burnley. Of course this isn’t the first time we’ve said this. They could well embark on another incredible season in the Championship where they blow everyone out of the water once again. But equally, this risky approach of constant change, sooner or later, might just catch up with them.