Evangelos Marinakis makes bold statement as Nottingham Forest appoint Ange Postecoglou

Nottingham Forest have announced Ange Postecoglou as Nuno Espirito Santo’s replacement just hours after his sacking.

The ex-Tottenham manager joins three months after creating history in north London by winning the Europa League before losing his job days later.

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Owner, Evangelos 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.”

Nuno became the first Premier League boss to lose his job this season after almost two years in charge last night.

Forest made the decision a week on from their humbling 3-0 home defeat to West Ham.

A club statement read: “Nottingham Forest Football Club confirms that, following recent circumstances, Nuno Espirito 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.”

Postecoglou could be joined by Scott Munn.

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Munn worked with the Australian at Spurs, where he was most recently their Chief Executive Officer.

Fulham boss Marco Silva were also among those admired by Marinakis, along with Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner before their decision to appoint Postecoglou.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers and Jose Mourinho have also been discussed, but Postecoglou is the man appointed with the club to face Arsenal at the Emirates on Saturday – live on talkSPORT.

Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis had been mulling over a change of manager since Espirito Santo made public their breakdown in relationship at a press conference before Forest’s 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace last month.

It is also believed that Espirito Santo and Forest’s Global Head of Football Edu fell out this summer after the club failed to sign Fulham winger Adama Traore, who the former managed at Wolves.

What had Nuno Espirito Santo said?

The 51-year-old subsequently refused to rule out an exit following their heavy loss to the Hammers.

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He told reporters: “It doesn’t help, of course, but I think we have to address other questions.

“My job now is to see what I can do to make sure that this performance doesn’t happen again.”

The defeat was Forest’s first of the campaign, but came at home to an out of form West Ham.

Graham Potter’s side had lost their previous three matches in all competitions this term going into the meeting.

Santo’s exit comes just four months after he had secured Europa League qualification last term.

Their seventh-place finish earned a place in Europe for the first time in 30 years.

Nuno departs the City Ground after 20 months in charge having been appointed in December 2023.

Having replaced Steve Cooper in the dugout, he guided Forest to survival before earning a European berth in his first full season.

Over the course of 71 matches as manager, Nuno secured 30 wins as well as reaching last season’s FA Cup semi-finals.

Simon Jordan’s verdict

Simon Jordan spoke on Tuesday’s White and Jordan show on talkSPORT and insisted Nuno was asking to be sacked with his comments.

He said: “What the manager’s done is precisely what managers do. Unless they get what they want, they’re out there flapping their gums in the media, suggesting things aren’t quite as they want them to be. That’s the underlying inference. 

“Whatever you think of Marinakis, he’s not a man to be trifled with. He’s not a man to play games with. 

“He’s a serious individual that operates at a very significant level. Just ask Morgan Gibbs White, but probably concentrated his mind as to reasons why he said what was said to him. If you get him off the record ever at some point in his career going forward.

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“Whether the mixture of Edu coming into the equation and the policy that the owner wants to divest authority down to him, which by the way is his gift, and what Nuno Espirito Santo has the choice of is getting on with it or not getting on with it. 

“So Nuno was asking for it, as far as you’re concerned. He got what he asked for. What did he think?

“What did you think was going to happen when you said that? Did you think you were going to get a pat on the back? Did you think that the owner, if you don’t know him, if you don’t know what someone’s going to do, then you’re a fool if you do it in public. 

“If you do know what they’re going to do, then you shouldn’t be surprised.

“If he knew what Marinakis is, given he has such a close relationship with last year, then he must know what the reaction was going to be.”

talkSPORT’s verdict on Ange Postecoglou

talkSPORT Breakfast host Jeff Stelling was not so sure that the former Tottenham manager is the right man to replace Nuno.

He said on Tuesday morning: “I don’t get how you can have Ange because the style of football is so fundamentally different from the style of football that Nuno played.

“The players that are up there now are there to suit Nuno’s style not Ange Postecoglou’s style in my opinion.

“How many games did Tottenham lose under him last season?”

However, Rangers legend Ally McCoist believed ex-Celtic boss Postecoglou would do a job for Forest.

He added: “It’s not his ideal style of play, but he went to Frankfurt and got a result by doing something different. You could argue as well that he did something different in the final.

“Big Ange is more than capable of doing it.”