A new dawn beckons (again) for Nottingham Forest.
Sean Dyche has been unveiled as the club's third permanent manager of the 2025/26 season, just eight games into the Premier League campaign.
It would be disingenuous to argue against the notion that Forest's start to the season has been anything short of a failure.
This season, Forest's first in Europe since the 1995/96 campaign, was supposed to be magical.
Instead, they find themselves in an early relegation scrap, sitting 18th in the Premier League table, with just five points in their opening eight games.
Nuno Espirito Santo left the club after just three games and was promptly replaced by Ange Postecoglou, who won the UEFAEuropa League**** with Tottenham Hotspur last term.
But things under the Aussie boss never felt right. Fans, disgruntled over Nuno's dismissal, struggled to get behind the new man in town, and his media comments, coupled with an eight-game winless run, quickly tired one of the country's most passionate fanbases.
Dyche arrives at the club, whose academy he came through at a time when they simply cannot afford to get things wrong.
But, if anyone understands the task at hand and what this football club means to supporters, and indeed Nottingham, it is Dyche.
"I just want this football club to win, long after me," he made clear. "This badge is bigger than any manager, that’s for sure. Well, there’s one manager [Brian Clough] who’s maybe equal.”
Some things are meant to be, and, for Dyche, this has been a long time in the making.
“I was here as a kid, but I never got a chance to wear the shirt," he admitted. "But now I’m here and I’m wearing it."
A shaky start to the season does not undo the strong foundations that have been laid down at the City Ground, and Dyche is aware of the strength of the squad he inherits.
"There’s a good group here, a very talented group, and they showed that over the course of last season.”
But players, managers and infrastructure mean nothing if there is not a loyal and passionate fanbase to support the team every week. But, in Nottingham, Dyche will not have to look hard to find that.
“The fans have been amazing over the last few years. I’ve been here as an opposition manager and as a supporter. They’ve built an atmosphere, and it’s important; they’ve made it a really tough place to come and win.”
A tough first test awaits Dyche and his side. Unbeaten Porto, who have conceded just twice in all competitions this season, travel to the City Ground in the Europa League on Thursday.