Former Charlton Athletic boss Alan Pardew has responded to reports linking him to the vacancy at recently relegated Championship side Burnley, following the departure of Vincent Kompany to Bayern Munich, in quotes provided by talkSPORT (via Birmingham World).
The experienced manager had been linked to the top job at Turf Moor, following a year and a half without a job. Frank Lampard still remains the favourite to take over the position but current caretaker manager Craig Bellamy also maintains some backing within the club.
Pardew has a coaching career that spans over 20 years, after taking over at Reading in 1999, before going on to have spells at West Ham United, Charlton Athletic, Southampton, Newcastle United, Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion. Following his spell with the baggies he headed abroad to ADO Den Haag, for just eight games, winning just one (his first game in charge).
He then took a step behind the scenes of CSKA-Sofia as a Technical director, enjoying a brief spell as caretaker boss in 2022. His final and most recent role was as manager of Aris Saloniki, where he won 9 of his 21 games in charge before departing in February 2023.
What has been said?
Speaking on talkSPORT’s White and Jordan program, Pardew was asked about the vacancy, claiming it would be a “great opportunity” for whoever took over.
“Well it obviously isn’t me,”
“Otherwise it would be officially announced!”
“It’s nice to be linked with them, if nothing else,”
“I think the squad is good enough, the ownership is well organised and have got finances to – maybe they’re in a better position than Leicester were last year to rebound.”
“So I think whoever gets the job, it’s going to be a great opportunity.”
“For myself, it’s a great challenge that I would like to do because I’d like to take a team back to the Prem.”
“I did it, I set teams up to go back to the Prem. West Ham, Southampton. So yeah, I would be open to it.”
“Whether that’s known, and that’s the rumour that’s gone out rather than the actual link, I don’t know.”
Asked to confirm whether he had spoken to Burnley Pardew responded: “I wouldn’t tell you if I had!”
Will Alan Pardew Take Over At Burnley?
It is more than likely still a low chance of him taking over. Any decent club that is on the lookout for a new manager will do their due dilligence and take a look at various available options to assess whether they are viable or not. Pardew is experienced, but he has been out of the English game now for a few years, with his recent record spotty.
It would perhaps be more of a step back in the direction of the Sean Dyche era at Burnley rather than the dramatically different style implemented under Vincent Kompany. With the other names being linked, that are younger coaches with potential, I doubt that is the direction the club are wanting to go in.
I suspect it is more than likely Pardew putting his name back out there that he is interested, getting yourself talked about as a potential option again is half of the challenge to those who have been out of the game for a while.
I could be wrong however, no one saw Kompany’s move to Bayern Munich coming either and we could be watching Pardew dance his way down the touchline at Turf Moor next season.