Exclusive: Sean Dyche sack update at Nottingham Forest as ‘ideal’ boss identified
Nottingham Forest will continue to stand by manager Sean Dyche as pressure builds from the fanbase, sources have told Football Insider.
The 54-year-old is seen as the “ideal” man to help lead Forest away from the relegation zone, given his previous experience of fighting for Premier League survival.
Dyche is already Forest’s third permanent manager of the season, and sources say that the board remain reluctant to add another managerial casualty at the moment.
There is a feeling among the hierarchy at the City Ground that the team were showing promise prior to their defeat to Leeds United last time out, and hope remains that Dyche can steer them away from trouble.
Nottingham Forest fans have already lost patience with Sean Dyche
Forest fans ripped into Dyche on social media after their defeat at Elland Road last week, and they have quickly lost patience with the boss as they continue to be dragged into relegation trouble.
The Reds’ damaging result in the Friday night game was compounded by their direct relegation rivals West Ham winning away at Burnley on Saturday, leaving them now just three points above the drop zone.
Fans cut into Dyche for his perceived lack of tactical understanding after the defeat to Leeds, but his team have some favourable fixtures on the horizon.
Meetings with Liverpool and Manchester City within their next five games are countered by appealing clashes against Wolves, Brighton and Fulham, which provide strong opportunities for Dyche’s men to pick up points.
Evangelos Marinakis and Co. will hope that Dyche’s survival experience will prove enough for the team to secure a favourable return from that run of games, and put some daylight between themselves and the bottom three in the process.
Forest at fault for Arne Engels transfer failure
Football Insider revealed last week that Nottingham Forest were at fault for their failure to sign Arne Engels from Celtic in the final stages of the January transfer window.
The Premier League strugglers identified the Belgian as their ideal last-minute midfield target and saw three bids rejected by the Bhoys, with their final offer even reaching the £25million mark.
However, Celtic stood firm in their desire to keep hold of Engels as they continue to fight for the Scottish Premiership title, and sources indicated that Forest only have themselves to blame for not getting a deal done.
Had the Reds pushed to complete the deal earlier in the window, then Celtic were likely to have sold the 22-year-old, but given the lateness of Forest’s advances, they were left with no time to find a replacement.