Nottingham Forest took the decision to sack Ange Postecoglou on Saturday afternoon. Forest fell to a disappointing 3-0 home defeat to Chelsea to extend their winless run to 10 matches. Postecoglou was only in charge for eight games having replaced Nuno last month and reports suggest that the Tricky Trees are eyeing a former Manchester City boss to succeed the Australian.
AFPPostecoglou struggled in second Premier League job
Forest acted quickly to replace Nuno Espirito Santo last month after the Portuguese boss was relieved of his duties during the September international break. Nuno worked wonders to guide Forest away from danger having succeeded Steve Cooper in December 2023 before delivering a European finish last season.
However, a breakdown in communications between Nuno, owner Evangelos Marinakis and newly-appointed Global Head of Football, Edu, saw the former Wolves and Tottenham boss shown the City Ground exit. Forest acted swiftly to replace Nuno with Postecoglou quickly appointed his successor.
The Australian had been out of work since his Tottenham departure back in June as the north London side opted to axe big Ange despite masterminding a Europa League triumph, ending Spurs' 17-year wait for silverware.
Postecoglou wasn't a popular appointment in the Midlands as Forest lost six of their eight matches under the 60-year-old, which included home defeats to Sunderland and FC Midtjylland in the Premier League and Europa League, respectively, and was subjected to chants of "sacked in the morning" in the 3-2 reverse against the Danish side.
AdvertisementAFPNottingham Forest eye ex-City boss
"Nottingham Forest Football Club can confirm that after a series of disappointing results and performances, Ange Postecoglou has been relieved of his duties as head coach with immediate effect," a statement read on the club's official website. "The Club will make no further comment at this time."
And Forest are looking to make a quick appointment once more with the Athletic reporting that former Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has been earmarked as a successor for Postecoglou. The Italian has been out of work since October 2024 after leaving his role as head coach of Saudi Arabia.
Mancini, who guided City to the Premier League title in 2012 and Italy to Euro 2020 glory at England's expense, has also managed in homeland Italy, Turkey and Russia.
Dyche still an option for Tricky Trees
Sean Dyche also remains an option for Forest following reports the former Everton boss was identified as a Postecoglou replacement over the international break. Like Mancini, Dyche is also out of work having left his role as Toffees head coach at the start of the year.
The 54-year-old was recently linked with the vacant Rangers job but ruled himself out of the running as he prioritised a Premier League return. However, it now remains to be seen whether Dyche, who has held talks with Forest, will take over at the City Ground.
New Forest boss has work cut out
The new man at the City Ground helm will have their work cut out, however. Forest have now dropped to 18th in the Premier League after Saturday's 3-0 loss to Chelsea, while Burnley's 2-0 win over Leeds saw the Clarets leapfrog the Midlands side out of the relegation zone.
Next up for Forest is Thursday's welcome of FC Porto in the Europa League, a competition they are winless in having followed up their 2-2 draw at Real Betis with a 3-2 home defeat to FC Midtjylland. Porto are unbeaten in all competitions this season, but did see a winning start to the campaign end prior to the international break as they drew 0-0 with Jose Mourinho's Benfica.
New Porto boss Francesco Farioli has overseen back-to-back wins in European competition as they beat Salzburg in Austria before securing a 2-1 win over FK Crvena Zvezda on home turf earlier this month. Thursday's Europa League tie will mark the first time Forest and Porto have met in their respective history with the Premier League side hoping for a new manager bounce as they look to rescue a doomed campaign.
Forest then return to league duties next weekend with a testing trip to Bournemouth as they aim to secure a first league win since the opening weekend of the season. The Cherries were twice pegged back by Crystal Palace on Saturday as a late Jean-Philippe Mateta penalty earned the Eagles a point in an entertaining 3-3 draw at Selhurst Park.
