Ange Postecoglou will be Nottingham Forest’s new head coach after the Premier League club fired manager Nuno Espirito Santo just three games into the season after a deterioration in his working relationship with the club’s hierarchy.
Postecoglou, the Australian head coach sacked by Tottenham at the end of last season, has agreed to take over after talks with club owner Evangelos Marinakis.
Ange Postecoglou with Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis in July.
Marinakis, said of Postecoglou’s appointment: “We are bringing a coach to the Club who has a proven and consistent record of winning trophies. His experience of coaching teams at the highest level, along with his desire to build something special with us at Forest, makes him a fantastic person to help us on our journey and achieve consistently all our ambitions.
“After gaining promotion to the Premier League, then building consistently season after season to secure European football, we now must take the right step to compete with the very best and challenge for trophies. Ange has the credentials and the track-record to do this, and we are excited he is joining us on our ambitious journey.”
The Melbourne-raised Postecoglou was seen walking into the club’s training facilities on Tuesday morning local time, in footage aired by Sky Sports News.
Under the 51-year-old Nuno, Forest — European champions in 1979 and ’80 — secured a spot in European competition for the first time in 30 years thanks to a seventh-place finish in the league last season. Forest were in the top five for most of the campaign and came close to qualifying for the Champions League.
However, Nuno will not get the chance to lead Forest into the Europa League after a very public falling-out with Marinakis, reportedly stemming from a breakdown in relations with the club’s recently hired global head of football, Edu Gaspar.
Nuno was critical of Forest’s off-season transfer activity, which he deemed crucial to maintain momentum after the team’s best season this century. With Edu directing transfer operations, most of Forest’s signings came late in the window — by which time Nuno had acknowledged his relationship with Marinakis was “not so good” and that he was worried about his job security.
