Nottingham Forest have sacked head coach Ange Postecoglou after just 39 days in charge, making it the shortest permanent managerial tenure in Premier League history. The decision came during Forest's 3-0 home defeat to Chelsea, with owner Evangelos Marinakis leaving his seat in the directors' box soon after the hour mark when the team trailed 2-0. A senior official informed Postecoglou of his dismissal after the match.
Forest have subsequently approached Sean Dyche and Roberto Mancini regarding the vacancy. Both are currently out of work. Marinakis is also a long-standing admirer of Fulham manager Marco Silva, who has an £8 million buyout clause in his contract. The club are willing to pay compensation but are mindful of profitability and sustainability regulations after sacking their second manager in two months and spending around £200 million on 13 new players over the summer.
Postecoglou, 60, said his goodbyes to players in the dressing room before leaving the City Ground, posing for photographs with supporters. He replaced Nuno Espírito Santo, whose relationship with Marinakis deteriorated over the appointment of Edu as global head of football. Forest return to Europa League action against Porto on Thursday, and the club expects to have a new head coach in place by then.
Mancini led Manchester City to their first Premier League title in 2011-12 and has not managed since leaving Saudi Arabia 12 months ago. Dyche, a former Forest trainee, lives near the City Ground, and his assistants Ian Woan and Steve Stone are former Forest players. The length of contract Marinakis is willing to offer could accelerate talks over the next 24 hours.
