Nuno Espirito Santo has got his wish, in the end. Even though he denied it, he wanted to be sacked.
And Evangelos Marinakis has now opted for a replacement head coach in his own image: Ange Postecoglou is a dominant man, headstrong, principled, who doesn’t suffer fools gladly.
Nuno was never going to resign, but he’d had enough of life at the City Ground. As soon as Marinakis appointed Edu as his global head of football, the writing was on the wall.
Edu was officially appointed in June, but his influence over the Forest owner stretches back longer than that. Nuno saw Edu as the third wheel: an awkward middle-man, who meant his symbiotic relationship with Marinakis was now one stage removed.
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Postecoglou arrived at Nottingham Forest’s training ground on Tuesday
He couldn’t understand why, when he and the Greek billionaire had always been so close, the owner had put a barrier between them. There were significant differences of opinion over transfer policy too.
Even before Edu’s arrival, Nuno never had much of a say over recruitment, but he was consulted and his opinion mattered. In truth, not much changed in that regard with Edu at the helm, but Nuno felt it had, and he was bitter.
He has always liked a small, tight-knit squad to work with, but with European football and big ambitions, the owner and Edu knew they needed more strength in depth. After a season of real success, unparalleled in the previous three decades, the relationship between owner and head coach was shot.
Nuno knew it, and he said so in two explosive news conferences.
Nuno’s managerial record in all competitions at Nottingham Forest
To criticise Marinakis in public once is brave, or foolish. To do it twice in seven days was terminal.
The trust was gone, and Marinakis was furious. He could not understand why the manager, on the eve of the new season – a season where the fanbase and everyone connected with the club was more optimistic than they had been for years – would go nuclear, and cause unnecessary noise and disruption inside and outside the club.
Once that trust was gone, it was impossible to find a way back, and Marinakis didn’t want to try. He had already moved on.
Sky Sports News understands Marinakis is philosophical about what has happened, and sees this as a positive new step in the club’s evolution.
Steve Cooper got the club back into the Premier League. Nuno got it back into Europe. Now, in Postecoglou, they believe they have a man at the helm who can take them to the next level – which is very clear in Marinakis’s eyes – he wants to win trophies.
The ambition is relentless.
