‘It’s still not a given’ – Sean Dyche warns Nottingham Forest fans about one thing
Nottingham Forest fans may not like what new manager Sean Dyche has admitted in his first press conference at the club.
Dyche was appointed Nottingham Forest manager after the club sacked former Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou after only 39 days in charge.
Nottingham Forest’s 3-0 defeat against Chelsea was Postecoglou’s first match in charge, but Dyche’s tenure will start with a Europa League clash at the City Ground against Porto.
Defeat to Midtjylland could not back up Forest’s 2-2 draw at Real Betis, leaving the Tricky Trees outside the top 24 in the league phase table.
Sean Dyche warns success is not a given
Dyche has been out of work since being sacked by Everton in January, and Forest supporters will want the 54-year-old to turn around results immediately.
However, in his first press conference as manager, Dyche, as per BBC Sport [22 October], has told fans that results cannot be guaranteed.
“It is a challenge but it is only three or fours season ago when they first came up that they had to push right the way to the end of the season to maintain Premier League status,” Dyche said.
“The second season was tight, a few points and stuff, I went through it myself at Everton. Forest went through a similar thing, stayed up and then one season catapults the whole thing and it changes.
“I’m not doing it down, it was a fantastic season for the fans, players, club, owner – everyone. But it doesn’t give you a divine right and I think the fans know that.
“Of course they want the glory days to come back but it’s still not a given. On the other hand, you’ve got to be open-minded: what can you achieve? I marvelled at some of what they did last season.“
Forest are on a current four match losing streak and have not won since the opening match of the Premier League season against Brentford.
| Goals per match | 0.6 |
| Goals Conceded per match | 1.9 |
| Goalkeeper saves per match | 3.5 |
| Shots on target per match | 3.8 |
| Big Chances Missed | 11 |
Evangelos Marinakis will continue to be ruthless with Dyche
Also speaking to BBC Sport, former Forest boss Mark Warburton has told Dyche that most importantly he must keep owner Marinakis on side at the club.
“For me, the owner set a series of key performance indicators, you hit all the KPIs, but if the owner is not happy about something then you are gone. It was as simple as that,” Warburton said.
“I remember sitting on New Year’s Eve, preparing for a game and get knock on the door, and you are gone. That is how he acts. He is ruthless in that sense. It is his club and he supports it, he writes the cheques and I get that.
“He sees Sean as a safe pair of hands.”