Postecoglou in line to replace Nuno as Nottingham Forest boss

Ange Postecoglou is expected to replace the sacked Nuno Espirito Santo at Nottingham Forest.

Nuno left his position as Head Coach at the City Ground late on Monday night and the club are advancing with their efforts to land a replacement.

The 60-year-old was sacked by Tottenham at the end of last season following a dismal Premier League season when they finished 17th.

However, the Australian led Spurs to a historic Europa League victory at the end of the season to end the club’s long-running trophy drought.

Forest currently sit 10th in the Premier League table after their opening three games of the season.

After 21 months in charge, Nuno’s last match in charge was a 3-0 defeat by West Ham before September’s international break.

The 51-year-old Portuguese coach took charge of Forest in December 2023 after the dismissal of Steve Cooper and helped preserve their top-flight status.

Last term he guided the club to seventh in the Premier League; their highest finish since 1994-95, as they qualified for Europe for the first time in three decades.

Nottingham Forest’s players have been caught by surprise by Nuno’s departure.

Many of them are on international duty and not due back for training until later this week.

But word spread, with some players hearing the news from other members of the squad.

It is thought Postecoglou will be appointed before Forest’s trip to Arsenal on Saturday.

He would become the eighth permanent manager since Evangelos Marinakis took over the club in May 2017.

Spurs lost 22 of their 38 league matches last season, accumulating only 38 points as they finished 17th; their worst finish in the Premier League.

They conceded 65 goals, with only Wolves and the relegated trio of Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton shipping more.

But Postecoglou led the club to a first major trophy in 17 years with a 1-0 win over Manchester United in the Europa League final.

The victory secured Champions League football, but it was not enough to keep Postecoglou in a job and he was sacked by the club 16 days later.

Spurs, who appointed Thomas Frank as his successor, said Postecoglou would be remembered for delivering “one of the club’s greatest moments” in becoming only the third manager to win them a European trophy.

Tottenham finished fifth in his first season in charge before he kept his promise to provide silverware in his second year.

Postecoglou was initially praised for the attacking style he implemented, but he was forced to defend himself from criticism for sticking to his principles and had to contend with a catalogue of injuries to key players.

When he was appointed Tottenham manager in June 2023, he became the first Australian to manage a Premiership side

Postecoglou playing career was spent in Australia, primarily with South Melbourne, where he played under Ferenc Puskas, the legendary Hungarian to whom Postecoglou attributes his coaching philosophy.

He stepped into management in 1996 with South Melbourne before winning back-to-back A-League titles with Brisbane Roar between 2009 and 2012.

After a season with Melbourne Victory he became manager of Australia in 2013 and guided his country to the 2014 World Cup as well as victory in the 2015 Asian Cup.

Further silverware followed during his time in Japan with Yokohama F Marinos, where he ended the club’s 15-year wait for a J-League title in 2019.

He joined Celtic in the summer of 2021 and went on to win five of the six trophies available to the club, including back-to-back Scottish Premiership titles.