I became the Premier League’s youngest manager

The Carabao Cup, originally called the League Cup, was considered an inferior tournament compared to England's FA Cup, the oldest football competition in the world.

Nonetheless, it was a major competition with 92 clubs from England's top tier, the Premier League, all the way down to the fourth tier, League Two.

Due to the nature of the tournament, there were often upsets where weaker teams achieved thrilling victories against stronger teams, and powerful clubs tended to rotate their rosters, fielding reserve players.

Because of this, the Carabao Cup was the only competition where mid-table teams in the Premier League could realistically aim for a title.

Of course, this situation had little relevance for Burnley, who were the top candidates for relegation, barely managing to survive each match with a squad thinner than paper.

"This is the second round of the Carabao Cup against Everton. Well, you're not looking forward to that, are you?"

This was Tuesday morning, following Burnley's away win against Brentford.

Although a new manager had not yet been appointed, interim manager Hyung-min was asked to attend the regular board meeting and was present.

Mike Garlick and John Banaskiewicz shook their heads with a bitter smile at Hyungmin's words.

"I don't want to burden you too much."

"Yes, so I plan to give this match a chance for players who haven't had much playing time. Well, actually, even saying that, the roster is so thin that it doesn't really mean much..."

Hyungmin took a deep breath and shook his head as he continued.

"But we need to give them breaks when we can, so we can somehow finish the regular season."

The board members wore dark expressions in response to the interim manager's harsh criticism.

"But we did beat Everton in the first round, and they have a new manager now, so don't you think we can give it a try?"

Helena, trying to highlight the positive side, spoke up, but Hyungmin looked at her with a bewildered expression.

"Everton is a traditional powerhouse that has never been relegated since the Premier League era began! Last season, they finished 10th under Carlo Ancelotti. You can't compare them to us, who barely managed to stay in the league by finishing 17th. And this game is away at Goodison Park."

Mike Garlick and John Banaskiewicz flinched at Hyungmin's unwavering criticism, while Helena laughed and quietly curled her tail.

Looking at the directors, Hyungmin silently prayed that Arthur wouldn't be too eager to involve the first-team players while he was away.

True to his promise to rotate as many players as possible, Hyung-min replaced all the players who had featured in the previous two matches, except for right-back Matt Lowton, who had no replacement, and midfielders Jack Cork, Ashley Westwood, and Josh Brownhill.

In defense, left-back Erik Pieters was an aging player whose physical condition was gradually declining, one central defender, Kevin Long, was a perennial candidate, and the other, Nathan Collins, was only a 20-year-old prospect.

Despite this, Burnley didn't back down against Everton under Frank Lampard, repeatedly pressing, dispossessing, and counterattacking quickly.

Of course, in a club like Burnley, there was a clear gap in skill between the starting players and the reserves.

As a result, the quality and quantity of opportunities created by the reserves, Johan Berg Gudmundsson, Ashley Barnes, and Max Cornet, were relatively low compared to the opportunities created by the starters, Dwight McNeil, Chris Wood, and Jay Rodriguez in the final attack.

"Shall we swap places between Gudmundsson and Cornet?"

Hyungmin, watching Burnley's starting lineup squander another attacking opportunity due to a poor cross, asked Arthur, who had come up next to him.

"I don't think that'll change much. Just look at how they're both struggling."

"Phew…"

Hyungmin sighed and glanced around the bench.

There were seven substitutes allowed on the bench for the Carabao Cup, all of whom had played nearly 180 minutes over the last two games and should be regulars moving forward.

The Premier League is a 38-game regular season, and if you include cup matches, players have to be prepared to play 40 to 45 games.

Considering not only the physical aspect but also the potential injuries that players may suffer, it's right for Burnley's thin roster to boldly give up what they need to.

And as an interim manager, I can't hand over the team to a new manager while still putting pressure on the players.

"For now… For now, let's just keep things this way."

"For now?"

"If we're clearly losing, we'll keep it like this in the second half. Or… But isn't it a bit weird not to try hard enough?"

"Hehehe. I agree. Of course, I have to do my best in every game!"

Although it wasn't a particularly helpful conversation in terms of managing the team's physical strength, the fresh-faced interim manager and the old interim head coach—who was past the time for retirement—exchanged meaningful glances.

In the second half, as the game began to loosen up from its tightness, Hyungmin made a decisive move.

Veteran striker Johan Gudmundsson, clearly showing signs of fatigue, was substituted off, and Max Cornet, who had been deployed as a right-wing striker, was moved to the left to better utilize his left foot.

Veteran attacker Jay Rodriguez was brought on to fill the empty spot on the right.

It was a substitution that was expected to bring balance to the tight game, with Rodriguez in top form for Burnley, having contributed one goal and one assist in his last two games.

Despite Burnley's proactive move, Everton manager Frank Lampard didn't show much of a reaction, as it seemed he hadn't fully grasped his team's progress yet.

But as the saying goes, people do what they have to do, but it is heaven that decides the outcome.

During a normal attack, Everton's touch caused the ball to slip out to the right sideline.

With the Everton players settling into defense, Burnley's right-back Matt Lowton passed the ball to center-back Nathan Collins.

Collins then drove the ball to the halfway line before passing to center-forward Ashley Barnes, who dropped into midfield as a decoy, dragging an Everton defender with him.

Barnes received the ball without much trouble, thanks to the Everton players not pressing aggressively.

Barnes, who was leisurely looking around, spotted Josh Brownhill closing in on him and passed the ball short to the Burnley midfielder, responsible for developing the attack.

Brownhill, who received the ball, passed a long ball to Max Cornet, who rushed toward the Everton goal at high speed from the left flank, in line with the prearranged play.

It was the same old Burnley counterattack and Everton blocking scene, except that Max Cornet's weak shot was blocked by Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, resulting in a corner.

But Burnley got it right on their 13th corner kick, which was their seventh corner overall.

Central striker Ashley Barnes, making his first start of the season, shook off Everton defenders who were chasing him and headed home a corner kick from Josh Brownhill.

"Eww!"

As Ashley Barnes ran to the corner flag and roared in victory, and the Burnley players ran to him to hug each other, Hyungmin scratched the back of his head.

"Huh?"

Why does it feel embarrassing, even though I'm winning?

Hyungmin stood in the technical area, asking himself a question as he watched Burnley players celebrate their goal.

He glanced over to the side and saw the head coach, who had agreed to let the team's best striker play for 30 minutes in a cup match unnecessarily, rubbing his face as if ashamed of himself.

"Couldn't you have put him in a little earlier?"

"Well... I guess it's good, right?"

Hyungmin tried to highlight the positive side of Arthur's sigh-filled words.

"Actually, in the grand scheme of things, winning can be a more burdensome game later on… sigh. Anyway, I'll tell Dwight and the others to come back in."

"Yes, I think that would be good. As long as no one gets hurt."

Arthur frowned at Hyungmin's words, as if to warn them not to tempt fate. He walked over to the Burnley substitutes warming up on the sideline and told them to sit down on the bench again.

Whatever the case, it was another day where Burnley's interim manager and interim assistant coach somehow got through another game.