Ange Postecoglou has been named the new head coach of Nottingham Forest following the sacking of Nuno Espírito Santo.
Nuno was dismissed overnight despite leading Forest back into Europe after a 30-year absence.
The club’s Greek owner Evangelos Marinakis has wasted little time in naming his replacement with Postecoglou agreeing a move to the City Ground.
Marinakis told the club’s official website: “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.”
Postecoglou was 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.
Postecoglou was filmed arriving at Forest’s training ground this morning and, having penned what reports suggest could be an 18-month contract – Forest have not confirmed details of the deal, will be in charge for the weekend game at Arsenal.
Postecoglou has Greek heritage
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.
Postecoglou’s record
Postecoglou, who was capped by Australia, spent his entire playing career with South Melbourne between 1978 and 1993 and led the club in his first managerial role from 1996 until 2000.
After seven years as an Australia coach at youth levels, he had spells with Greek club Panachaiki and Australian sides Whittlesea Zebras, Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory before managing Australia from 2013 to 2017.
The former defender moved on to Japanese club Yokohama F Marinos until 2021 and Scottish giants Celtic until 2023, when he succeeded Antonio Conte as Tottenham manager.
Postecoglou Tottenham stats
Tottenham started brightly in Postecoglou’s first season in charge in 2023/24 but fell short of the fourth-placed finish required to secure Champions League football during that campaign, coming fifth and entering the Europa League.
Spurs’ final position of 17th – one above the relegation zone – in 2024/25 was their lowest since the modern Premier League began in 1992/93 and worst overall since suffering top-flight relegation in 1976/77.
The 22 league defeats Postecoglou oversaw during the season represented two more than any other team above the bottom three suffered.
Tottenham’s tally of 64 league goals matched fourth-placed Chelsea’s total but their defensive record of 65 conceded was the fifth-worst in the division.
Postecoglou trophies, titles
A two-time Australian champion as a player, Postecoglou has tended to win trophies during his second season in charge of clubs, including that Europa League triumph.
Among an extensive list of silverware, he won championships with both of his Australia youth sides, the Australian title three times as a manager and the Japanese and Scottish top flights.
The Football Australia Hall of Fame inductee was also named the PFA Manager of the Decade in Australia in 2015 and won the Premier League Manager of the Month award three times during his debut season in the division.
