Sean Dyche has been confirmed as the new Nottingham Forest manager, and one player should benefit a great deal from his arrival after his internal concerns about Ange Postecoglou’s system.
Nottingham Forest confirmed Sean Dyche’s appointment on Tuesday morning, less than 72 hours after sacking Ange Postecoglou.
Forest fans are not happy with their club’s official statement regarding Dyche, but attention must swiftly turn away from off-field issues and towards matters on the pitch.
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On that front, Dyche’s arrival could be set to benefit one man in particular.
Nottingham Forest v Everton FC - Premier League
Photo by Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Nikola Milenkovic was not suited to Ange Postecoglou’s style
Like so many others at the City Ground in 2025/26, Nikola Milenkovic has been far from his best this term.
Forest have shipped 15 goals in the Premier League, with only the two teams below them conceding more.
Milenkovic has so far played every minute of league football in 2025/26, but as expected, he struggled under Postecoglou.
Unlike Nuno Espirito Santo, the former Celtic boss prefers to play with a high defensive line, as Opta have previously explained.
“The average position at which Tottenham’s defensive line caught opponents offside was more than 10 metres higher up the pitch than Forest’s.
“Forest, often camped in their own half, caught fewer opposition attackers offside (36) than any other team in the Premier League.”
𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐡𝐚𝐦 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 🤝
On initial viewing, this might look like a confusing appointment to follow on from Nuno Espírito Santo.
But Postecoglou showed in Tottenham's run to Europa League glory that he 𝒄𝒂𝒏 adapt. pic.twitter.com/bthhfaPTjT
— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) September 9, 2025
View Tweet
Elsewhere, TBR Football’s chief correspondent, Graeme Bailey, revealed that both Murillo and Milenkovic had internally expressed concerns about the high line Ange was playing.
As expected, the stopper was unable to adapt to Postecoglou’s demands and looked a shadow of his former self.
With Dyche at the helm, however, fans should start to see the 28-year-old thriving at both ends of the pitch.
Sean Dyche is perfect for Nikola Milenkovic
Any regular watcher of Burnley and Everton over the last decade will know exactly how Dyche is going to set up his Nottingham Forest team moving forward.
He is a pragmatic manager who, unlike Postecoglou, prefers a low block with plenty of men behind the ball.
This is exactly the sort of system the fairly slow Milenkovic excels in, while the Serbian will also benefit going forward.
He is yet to score this season but found the back of the net five times in 2024/25, all of which were from set-pieces.
Now, standing at 6ft 5, expect Dyche to start utilising Milenkovic a lot more from corners, free-kicks and throw-ins in the coming months.