Sean Dyche has promised to give Nottingham Forest the “freedom to play” attacking football after being confirmed as the club’s third head coach of the season. The former Burnley and Everton manager replaces Ange Postecoglou, whose 40-day tenure ended after a 3-0 defeat to Chelsea on Saturday.
Dyche, who signed a contract until 2027, has brought club legends Ian Woan and Steve Stone into his backroom staff. Despite his reputation for building defensively solid teams, he stressed the need to utilise Forest’s attacking talent. “There’s some real talent here, so our job now is to find that balance – the risk and reward of going forward to score goals and excite the crowd,” he said.
The 53-year-old oversaw his first training session on Tuesday and will make his home debut against Porto in the Europa League on Thursday. Forest sit 18th in the Premier League with five points from eight games, a sharp contrast to last season’s seventh-place finish under Nuno Espírito Santo which secured European football.
Forest’s hierarchy, including global head of football Edu and technical director George Syrianos, also considered Fulham manager Marco Silva and former Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini. However, Dyche’s clarity of messaging and proven achievement impressed them most, with a club statement hailing his “perfect blend of character, tactical acumen and proven achievement”.
