Pundit Simon Jordan has laid bare the challenges Ange Postecoglou will face as head coach of Nottingham Forest.
The former Tottenham Hotspur boss is in line to take charge at the City Ground following the Reds’ decision to sack Nuno Espirito Santo. If all goes as expected, Postecoglou will be thrown straight in at the deep end with a trip to take on Arsenal as his first game at the helm.
The 60-year-old has been out of work since he was given the boot by Spurs in June, shortly after leading them to Europa League success. Forest will test themselves in that same competition this season and owner Evangelos Marinakis has already spoken about targeting the trophy - something Postecoglou will be well aware of.
Discussing Postecoglou’s expected appointment, Jordan said on talkSPORT: "There's a dearth of talent to go round so you have to go back to other people's cast-offs. He's a cast-off from Spurs, isn't he? He was cast asunder.
"Whether he's going to have learnt lessons from Tottenham and subsequently deploy them differently at Nottingham Forest, he will have the same challenges. Nottingham Forest are looking upwards and Marinakis is no easy person to work for - in terms of being very demanding, and so he should be because he spends the money, which gives him the right to be demanding.
"Nottingham Forest have ambitions to win things. If he sets himself up the same way he did for Tottenham, he will have the same challenges, won't he? Interesting fit.”
Nuno’s dismissal came a matter of months after he had penned a new three-year deal Trentside. Those fresh terms were a reward for leading Forest back into Europe for the first time in three decades.
However, a rift behind the scenes between Nuno and global head of football Edu quickly emerged. Nuno subsequently criticised the club’s transfer business and went into detail about how his relationship with Marinakis had deteriorated.
Get breaking Forest news sent direct to your phone
Join our Nottingham Forest WhatsApp group and get the latest breaking news, interviews and opinion sent straight to your phone, plus matchday team news and live updates of all the action. Just click here and select ‘Join Community’ to get started. The only proviso is that you must have WhatsApp on your phone to participate. No one will be able to see your personal information and you will only receive messages from the NottinghamshireLive Reds writers.
We will not spam your WhatsApp feed with constant messages, but you will receive updates from us daily with the latest Reds stories. If you later decide to opt out, just go to the name at the top of your screen and click 'Exit Group'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. If you are curious, you can click here to read our Privacy Notice.
After two out-spoken press conferences, Nuno tried to offer an olive branch by taking a more conciliatory tone with some of his comments before the international break. Speaking at the recent Europa League draw, Marinakis suggested there was a way forward and that the right man remained in charge. Midway through the pause in Premier League action, however, the Greek decided to make a change.
"When we addressed the subject 10 days ago, when the manager decided to take it upon himself to avail the world of his personal relationship with the owner, it was inevitable,” Jordan said of Nuno being axed. "I said at the time that was him gone, and so he has.
"Marinakis was quite sanguine about it last week and quite balanced in his outlook. He talked about the emotional nature of managers, came back and sacked the fella!
"I'm not surprised. He (Nuno) brought it upon himself.
"He's not a casualty of football management where owners are being irresponsible and are sacking people without giving them enough opportunity and so on. This is a manager who is prepared to say the things he said when there is no reason and no necessity for it.
"It was similar at Wolves. I think they got fed up of him at Wolves for doing that sort of stuff.
"Coming out and talking about his relationship with the owner, publicly and to the media, is a stupid thing to do. What do you expect to happen?”
Have Forest made the right decision? Click HERE to have your say