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“This badge is bigger than any manager,†said Sean Dyche at his unveiling as Nottingham Forestâ€s head coach, wearing a training top with his initials, before correcting himself. “Well, there was one manager who was probably as big as the badge – we all know who that was.†Then came an impression of Brian Clough, a crack at that unique drawl. “‘Young ginger, well done,â€â€ he said, reliving his three years as a trainee at the City Ground, the days he spent wandering down the Trent, with Del Boy, Cloughâ€s labrador, whizzing past him and his managerâ€s voice invariably within earshot.

Dyche tells a story of how, as a youth player, he and a few others tended to Cloughâ€s garden at his home in Quarndon. “We were on £28.50 a week and he paid you a tenner to do his garden. So we actually thought: ‘This is decent.†Heâ€d cook for you and make sure you were well looked after. It was quite enjoyable, not too much gardening.â€

For Dyche, this moment has been a long time in the making. He lives in the city and has a fondness for the club. In recent years he and his longstanding assistant Ian Woan, who was part of the Forest side the last time they were in Europe, in 1995-96, have sometimes popped into the West Bridgford cafe where Forest legends such as Frank Clark, Colin Barrett and Garry Birtles meet every Thursday to talk old and new tales. He will have to give it a miss this week to prepare for the visit of Porto, unbeaten this season, in the Europa League on Thursday evening.

“Iâ€m looking forward to seeing the miracle men,†said Dyche, who succeeded Ange Postecoglou to become Forestâ€s third manager of the season. “They will give me a bit of ear-holing if I donâ€t do too well, so I better win some games for them. Those guys mean a lot to me. A lot of Forest fans recognise the history of this club. Iâ€ve got my own and now Iâ€ve got a chance to reinvent my own, I suppose, as manager.â€

Dyche took Forest training for the first time on Tuesday, three days after Postecoglou oversaw a 3-0 home defeat by Chelsea that left the club in the Premier League relegation zone. Ryan Yates, the club captain who joined aged eight, acknowledged these are early days but Dyche and his staff have alleviated some of the gloom.

Ryan Yates said Sean Dyche and his staff had already lifted the clubâ€s mood. Photograph: David Rogers/Getty Images

Dycheâ€s staff includes another Forest hero in Steve Stone, as well as Billy Mercer and Tony Loughlan, both of whom played for the club. “I feel like a massive strength of this club is getting the connection between the fans, players and manager and, letâ€s be honest, the last few weeks we havenâ€t had a good feeling around here,†Yates said. “The new manager and his staff have brought that sense of life and energy.â€

Dyche made clear he does not “know the club like the back of my hand†given his most recent experience at Forest has been as an opposition manager, but he believes he has a wider understanding of the place and expectations. The house rules have been laid. “Iâ€ve let them wear white socks, for goodness sake,†Dyche said. “Iâ€ll have my ex-players caning me on WhatsApp. But theyâ€re not allowed to wear snoods or hats … I had to do a deal somewhere.â€

Forest have lost their past four matches and not won since the opening day. Dyche said the owner, Evangelos Marinakis, recognised the importance of stabilising things. Dyche encountered the Greek billionaire in the Europa League with Burnley, when his side lost in a playoff against Olympiakos in 2018. After the first leg Dyche expressed anger at Olympiakos officials, including Marinakis, confronting the officials at half-time in Piraeus. “We had a bit of a giggle about it,†Dyche said.

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Part of Dycheâ€s appeal is his reputation for building teams with solid foundations, pertinent for a side without a clean sheet in 20 matches. “Iâ€ve been put in many boxes, Iâ€m not bothered,†he said. “Iâ€ve never tried to hide behind whatâ€s effective. Itâ€s no badge of honour to me. Five years ago people were going: ‘Why do you rely on set pieces?†Now theyâ€re in vogue. Skinny jeans, flared jeans, skinny jeans, flared jeans … my daughter hammers me for whatever jeans I wear. Apparently on social media even I got some stick for my trainers walking into training [on Tuesday] … couldnâ€t believe that. Tom Ford [trainers] but, anyway, donâ€t like to mention it.â€

Dyche is proud his formative years were at Forest but believes that should not mean he or his staff are judged differently. “Thereâ€s no shortcut with the fans, but we do care, thatâ€s one thing I donâ€t think can ever be questioned,†he said. “All I dreamt of was wearing the shirt, but I never got to do it. Stoney and Woany did, Billy did as a loan goalkeeper, Tony wore it and scored a goal. I was the only one who didnâ€t and they keep reminding me of that.

“For me to have that part of it is a big thing for me personally. But it doesnâ€t give me a divine right, trust me. The fans want me to win. If Iâ€m not winning, the fans are going to come at me because thatâ€s the way fans work and Iâ€ve got no problem with that because thatâ€s the reality. I was here as a kid and never wore the shirt, the badge. Well, now, Iâ€m sitting with it on me.â€

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“I have seen enough fashionistas come in and out of this division,” says new Nottingham Forest manager Sean Dyche. “You’ve got to win the games, it’s as simple as that.”

The 54-year-old might not class himself as a football fashionista but as coaches place increasing emphasis on set-pieces and ‘going long’ he may find himself in vogue.

Ange Postecoglou lasted just 39 days at Forest after being brought in to win trophies and play more expansive, attacking football having replaced Nuno Espirito Santo on 9 September.

He lost six and drew two of his eight games in charge as the squad struggled to adapt quickly enough to the new manager’s demands.

Soon after Dyche walked down the stairs of the club’s museum in the Trent End as Forest’s third manager of the season, he outlined his philosophy and style, having been criticised at Burnley and Everton.

“I did a podcast with Tony Pulis and Mick McCarthy, Tony’s now being lauded for long throws when before he was getting hammered [as manager of Stoke],” said Dyche, who has signed a deal until the summer of 2027.

“It’s the fashion of football, it changes all the time and I’m not pontificating one way or the other but the bit I like is when you win.

“The Forest fans accepted a different way of working than in the history of this club last season which was very successful. They are more open-minded now.

“The players are aware of it. I took a lot of feedback from the players. They are very proud of what they did last season. That is no problem for me because I agree with them. Now can we mould it slightly differently but keep that winning mentality?

“Long ball, short ball? You’ve just got to play effective football. That will never go out of fashion.”

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Forest backed themselves into a corner after the failed Postecoglou experiment.

They wanted the new man in before Thursday’s Europa League visit of Porto – and Dyche has to restore the organisation and solidity which was so evident under Nuno Espirito Santo, who took them to seventh in the Premier League last season.

Centre-backs Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic were nervous with Postecoglou’s more open style, while Matz Sels, who shared the Golden Glove with Arsenal’s David Raya last season, is yet to keep a clean sheet this term and was culpable for at least one goal against Chelsea.

Elliot Anderson is someone who has maintained his form and has had the most touches, 807, in the Premier League this season – but the midfielder is an exception to the rule.

It means Dyche will immediately need to understand the make-up and psychology of the squad after Forest spent £180m on 13 new players in the summer transfer window.

About £120m of talent was left out of the squad altogether on Saturday – James McAtee, Dilane Bakwa, Arnaud Kalimuendo and record signing Omari Hutchinson – with just two summer signings, loanees Douglas Luiz and Oleksandr Zinchenko, starting.

Sources close to the squad feel they have too many players and too many of the same type.

The unity which had been so pivotal has been disrupted by Nuno’s departure and Dyche must restore that.

“He’s one of the most charismatic men, he walks into a room and he demands the attention of the room,” said former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson, who played under Dyche for 18 months at Burnley.

“I always reacted really well to man managers, people whose door was always open and told you the truth whether you liked it or not, and that’s one of Sean’s great qualities.

“He’s a leader of men, he gets the respect from the dressing room immediately. At times, he’s been criticised for the way he plays, but he gets results and the thing I responded to and reacted to, he’s able to get the best out of players who may not be at the top level.

“There’s players in that Nottingham Forest squad – Morgan Gibbs-White, Elliot Anderson, Neco Williams, Callum Hudson-Odoi – those type of players will absolutely love playing under Sean Dyche. He will be a manager who they will excel with.”

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Nottingham Forest have appointed Sean Dyche as their third head coach of a tumultuous season. The former Everton and Burnley manager will hope to stabilise the club after the winless 40-day reign of Ange Postecoglou and, before that, the dismissal of Nuno Espírito Santo.

The Fulham manager, Marco Silva, and the former Manchester City head coach Roberto Mancini were also considered but Forest opted for the experience of Dyche. He has signed a contract to 2027.

Dyche has been out of work since being sacked in January by Everton, where he was in charge for two years, and will be in the dugout for the visit of Porto in the Europa League on Thursday.

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Dycheâ€s staff will include two former Forest players, Ian Woan and Steve Stone, who have worked under him in the past.

Forestâ€s statement said: “Dyche brings the perfect blend of character, tactical acumen and proven achievement to guide the club through its next chapter. Having managed more than 330 Premier League matches in his career to date, Dyche has built teams defined by defensive organisation, resilience, and strength from set pieces —qualities that align closely with the current squadâ€s attributes and the clubâ€s footballing identity. As a former Forest youth player who lives locally, Dyche also has a deep understanding of the values and pride of Forest and its supporters.â€

Evangelos Marinakis was interested in appointing Silva, who he worked with at Olympiakos, but a deal to bring him from Fulham mid-season was deemed too difficult. In the background, the global head of football, Edu Gaspar, and technical director, George Syrianos, had been carrying out due diligence on potential candidates, with Dyche and Mancini regarded as the most compatible with the squad. Forest were eager to hire someone with a record of producing strong defences and Dycheâ€s work at Burnley and Everton was regarded as key.

Forestâ€s hierarchy have been impressed with the clarity of messaging provided by Dyche and his staff during conversations in the hiring process. He gained a further advantage over Mancini by having worked in the Premier League more recently. The Italianâ€s only management role in England was at Manchester City, who he left in 2013, and he has not worked for a club since Zenit St Petersburg in 2018.

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Dyche takes over a side 18th in the Premier League with five points from eight games after they lost 3-0 to Chelsea on Saturday in Postecoglouâ€s final match. Forestâ€s chaotic season follows Nuno leading them back into Europe with a seventh-placed finish last term.

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Frank Lampardâ€s Coventry, to give them their legal name, are flying. The thought of them back in the top division is rather stirring to those of a certain age.

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Fair points made here from the comments section below.

“Postecoglou could be the least effective Premier League manager everâ€
Well looking at the stats that may be true, but the damage was done before AP turned-up at Forest. The problem at Forest is
the players shattered morale, last season those same players proved they could beat anyone. For me the problem at Forest is a overbearing interfering owner who rewarded those players who gave everything last season and who missed CL football by a single point in their first PL season by sacking their inspirational manager Nuno Espírito Santo in the most humiliating way possible. People talk about managers, tactics, playerâ€s effort and abilities but once a teams morale is broken, any manager will tell you, itâ€s extremely difficult repairing it especially when the person who broke it is still there every week crushing it even further.

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Getafe v Real Madrid is Sundayâ€s late game in La Liga, a local derby. Sid Lowe spoke to Abu Kamara, once of Hull.

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A couple of important pieces on talent development.

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Letâ€s look ahead to Liverpool v Manchester United, where Florian Wirtz and Mohamed Salah are due a performance. Jonathan Wilson previews the game.

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Saturdayâ€s match reports are here.

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Letâ€s hope Jack Wilshere lasts a bit longer at Luton, though he had a tough start on Saturday.

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Our reaction to that Postecoglou news.

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Preamble

Good morning, football. Saturday was a red letter day in Premier League history, Ange Postecoglou biting the dust in record time. Things move pretty fast at Nottingham Forest so we await news of Evangelos Maranakis†next move.

Weâ€ll also build up to Tottenham v Aston Villa, the 2pm kick-off, and Liverpool v Manchester United at 4.30pm.

Join us. And do let us know your thoughts and plans. Perhaps fears in the case of Forest fans.

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Updated at 03.06 EDT

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Forest’s problems do not stem from Postecoglou and it would be unfair to point all the fingers at him.

Issues surfaced in the summer, with Edu, Forest’s global head of sport after his official appointment in June, clashing with Nuno.

The pair disagreed, especially over Nuno’s desire to sign winger Adama Traore – someone he worked with successfully at Wolves – from Fulham.

The appointment of Edu can be viewed as the start of the problems, purely from the viewpoint of what happened with Nuno and how the season has unravelled since.

Edu wanted younger signings with greater resale value, not unrealistic in modern football, but Nuno was unhappy he did not get his man as 21-year-old Omari Hutchinson joined for a club record £37.5m from Ipswich.

Hutchinson was eventually left out of the Europa League squad, although Forest sources have suggested there was little other option when looking at squad balance and who to cut.

Nuno was not sold on left-back Cuiabano, who was close to joining Brighton, with the Seagulls due to send him on loan to the Championship, before Edu pursued a deal then sent him back to Botafogo on loan.

Edu has also been much more visible around the training ground since Nuno’s departure in early September – not unusual for a sporting director, but it is a contrast from his previous routine, having opted to remove himself from a potential combustible situation when Nuno was in charge.

He was aided by head of football operations Ross Wilson, who was asked to stay to oversee the final weeks of the transfer window and leave when the time was right, having agreed to join Newcastle in a deal which was announced last week, and Edu has since naturally stepped up further to fill the gap.

But fingers will also be pointed at the former Arsenal midfielder now.

Forest spent about £180m in the summer and recouped more than £100m, the majority coming from the record £55m transfer of winger Anthony Elanga to Newcastle, having signed the Sweden international for £15m in 2023.

Other sales, like goalkeeper Matt Turner to Lyon and Andrew Omobamidele to Strasbourg, meant fringe players moved, although sources have suggested Danilo, who joined Botafogo, was reluctant to leave Forest, while Jota Silva’s switch to Portugal collapsed at the last minute.

In the final hour of the summer European transfer window a deal for the forward to join Sporting Lisbon on loan for 4m euros was agreed, after weeks of negotiations, but the documents did not arrive with the Portuguese league’s registration platform in time.

Silva instead moved to Besiktas – a club he was happy to join – as the Turkish window remained open until 12 September.

Of their summer signings, only loanees Douglas Luiz and Oleksandr Zinchenko started against Chelsea, while James McAtee, Dilane Bakwa, Arnaud Kalimuendo and Hutchinson – for whom Forest paid more than £100m – were not included, so is there an imbalance in the squad and did Forest not buy well enough?

Postecoglou did not walk into a fully functioning machine, but it had already become clear it was not the right fit.

Forest are now looking to make a swift appointment and it is one Marinakis has to get right this time.

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Nottingham Forest are without a win since replacing Nuno Espirito Santo with Australian manager Ange Postecoglou.

Amid reports that owner Evangelos Marinakis is considering making a second managerial change of the season just seven games into Postecoglou’s tenure, the Forest boss has spoken out on his future.

This weekend, the team host Chelsea in the early kick-off at the City Ground, live on TNT Sports.

Failure to win for an eighth successive match could spell the end for Postecoglou, just months on from his Europa League triumph and subsequent sacking by Tottenham Hotspur.

“Just look at the last five or six team sheets of last season to see what I prioritised [the Europa League], and who was on the bench. And the last game against Brighton, the players were out partying for two days, which I sanctioned because I felt they deserved to. So yes we finished 17th. But if people think that’s a reflection of me and my coaching then again, I think they are looking at it through the prism of I just don’t fit.”

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Speaking on Friday afternoon, Postecoglou said the Europa League title he won at Tottenham last season, before he was sacked in the summer, demonstrates he does not allow pressure to impact his management.

“It doesn’t enter my head,” he added. “My responsibility lies in making sure this football club progresses and gets to a position where it can challenge for things,” said Postecoglou.

“If I start putting timelines to that or worry about what is going to happen next week then I am not performing the role I have been given.

“I just don’t think it is helpful to anyone. At the end of the day, I have to concentrate on the environment, the training, the way we play, and, as I said last night, I am still very, very strong in my belief that we are not too far away.

“Put it this way – I knew I was getting sacked at Tottenham about three or four months before I did, but that didn’t stop me from winning something.”

The 60-year-old joined Spurs from Celtic in 2023 and supporters initially warmed to the Australian for his attacking style of play, with the Londoners finishing fifth in the Premier League during his first season.

Postecoglou’s second term was more difficult as Spurs finished fourth from bottom in the table. He did, however, lead the club to their first trophy in 17 years as they beat Manchester United in the Europa League final.

Forest visit Newcastle United on Sunday (14:00 BST).

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Wayne Rooney says Nottingham Forest are showing their adapting quickly to Ange Postecoglou’s style and that the club’s new manager…

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