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Nottingham Forest will turn to Ange Postecoglou to replace Nuno Espírito Santo, according to widespread reports this morning.
Nuno was sacked overnight despite leading Forest to a seventh-placed finish in the Premier League last season and a return to European competition for the first time in 30 years.
His relationship with the club’s Greek owner Evangelos Marinakis had deteriorated over recent months with the Portuguese admitting “they were no longer close”.
Postecoglou available after Spurs dismissal
Marinakis will now entrust the role to Postecoglou, who is out of work after being dismissed by Tottenham in June, shortly after leading the club to the Europa League title with a win over Manchester United in Bilbao.
The 60-year-old was born in Athens before migrating to Australia as a child.
And Marinakis has previously praised Postecoglou for being a great ambassador for Greece.
In July, he presented the former Celtic boss with an award and said, in remarks reported by Neos Kosmos: “What I want to say about Ange is that he has spoken about Greece many times, he is proud to be Greek and in the great success he had with Tottenham by winning the Europa League, he spoke about Greece.
“A man who not only does not hide his origin but is also proud of it. What he achieved, he did with a team that has not won any titles, it has had a very difficult time in recent years. In this huge success that the whole world saw, he promoted Greece.”
Change in direction at Forest
Postecoglou will bring an entirely different footballing philosophy to the City Ground. Nuno has always been regarded as a pragmatic coach, happy to win games without dominating possession.
Postecoglou is the opposite with his high press, high possession, all-out attack tactics leading to domestic league titles in Australia, Japan and Scotland.
It failed to reap similar rewards in the Premier League, however. Spurs finished fifth in his first season in charge but their form tailed off alarmingly in year two as they came 17th, losing 22 of their 38 league games.
Postecoglou will also have to manage upwards with Marinakis and the club’s sporting director Edu influential figures.
And it was Marinakis’ breakdown in relations with Nuno that led to his departure.
A club statement, released at 1215am this morning, read: “Nottingham Forest Football Club confirms that, following recent circumstances, Nuno Espírito Santo has today been relieved of his duties as Head Coach.
“The club thanks Nuno for his contribution during a very successful era at The City Ground, in particular his role in the 2024/25 season, which will forever be remembered fondly in the history of the club.
“As someone who played a pivotal role in our success last season, he will always hold a special place in our journey.”
Relationship sours after Awoniyi row
Nuno and Marinakis had been on a collision course for some time after a public falling out following the 2-2 draw with Leicester at the end of last season.
Marinakis angrily confronted the former Tottenham boss after a mix-up with the medical staff that saw striker Taiwo Awoniyi remain on the field despite an injury that left him immobile for the remainder of the game.
The cracks between coach and owner resurfaced at the start of this term with Nuno feeling the momentum generated by securing a Europa League place was not capitalised on in the transfer market.
He was vocal in his disappointment before the season opener against Brentford and again a week later as Forest went to Crystal Palace, admitting his relationship with Marinakis had “changed” and that they were no longer “close”.
The club did make moves in the window with the likes of Igor Jesus, Dan Ndoye, James McAtee, Douglas Luiz and Omari Hutchinson all arriving.
But Marinakis and Edu are unlikely to have been impressed that Hutchinson, a club-record £37million signing from Ipswich, was omitted from Nuno’s Europa League squad.
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