By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: 11:28 EDT, 22 August 2025 | Updated: 11:28 EDT, 22 August 2025
NOTTINGHAM, England (AP) - Nottingham Forest coach Nuno Espirito Santo acknowledged Friday that he's worried about his job security because of worsening relations with the club´s owner Evangelos Marinakis.
The Portuguese coach impressed last season in leading Forest to a seventh-place finish in the Premier League - with the club securing a place in Europe for the first time in 30 years - and opened this campaign with a win over Brentford.
Still his job is not safe despite signing an improved contract in June.
"I always had a very good relationship with the owner, last season (it) was very, very, very close," Nuno said Friday during a news conference ahead of Sunday's game against Crystal Palace. "This season, not so well. ... And where there´s smoke, there´s fire, so I know how things work, but I´m here to do my job."
He added that "I´m the first one to be worried" about the situation.
Marinakis, who also owns Greek champion Olympiakos, is known in soccer as a big personality with strong opinions on how his clubs are run.
Last week, Nuno criticized Forest´s offseason transfer activity, saying the club was wasting a good chance to develop. The team faces the extra demands of eight Europa Leauge games through January.
Forest has this week spent almost 100 million pounds ($135 million) to sign James McAtee, Omari Hutchinson, Arnaud Kalimuendo and Douglas Luiz.
"The reason behind it, I don´t know," Nuno said of his relations with Marinakis. "The reality is that it's not what it used to be. What it used to be was a good, respectful relationship, but was more based on trust and sharing opinions, and now it´s not so good."
Forest is at Palace on Sunday after taking the London club's place in the Europa League following a lengthy legal dispute with UEFA over rules on owners with stakes in multiple clubs.
Palace was demoted to the third-tier Conference League - which Forest had qualified for on merit.
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