Former Nottingham Forest midfielder Roy Keane has slammed the club’s current squad as “stupid” and accused them of being involved in the ouster of manager Ange Postecoglou. Mr Postecoglou’s reign lasted just 39 days, with the Australian failing to win a single victory after taking over from Nuno Espirito Santo.
Forest are now on their third permanent manager for the campaign, with Sean Dyche in the hot seat. The former Everton manager will make his debut in charge when Porto arrive at the City Ground for their Europa League match. Dyche will become the club’s ninth permanent manager since owner Evangelos Marinakis took over in 2017. One of them, Steve Cooper, remained in the post for over 100 games.
Keane, who made 150 appearances for the club in the early 90s, told Stick to Football: “Look at the Forest players and the chances they had. What chances did he (Postecoglou) have? Did they really want to score?”
“Did they want to keep them in their jobs? I think about good players not even reaching their goals. And when a manager loses his job, you look at the players at Forest and they’re like, ‘Oh, another manager’s gone, a new one’s come in’. It’s stupid, to be honest.”
Forest won their opening game under Nuno, but have been unable to find success in the league or cup since then. In their most recent match, they lost 3-0 at home to Chelsea, a result that sealed Postecoglou’s fate.
Less than 20 minutes after the final whistle, Forest manager confirmed he had been sacked. His successor, Mr. Dyche, was appointed within 72 hours and was thrown right into the deep end.
Keane’s fellow pundit Micah Richards took issue with Postecoglou’s dismissal, suggesting more time was needed to account for the different playing styles between Keane and Nuno. “It was inevitable, but I don’t think it’s right,” Richards told BBC Sport on Saturday.
“He’s only been given eight games and contrasting styles will always be a factor. Forest went from being one of the best counter-attacking managers to being a more expansive manager. It didn’t work right away.”
“Ange Postecoglou is a good manager, but maybe the media abuse didn’t help. He looked like the right guy, but he needed more time.”
“The interesting thing now is, is the next manager short-term or long-term? What are Forest aiming for? Was last season a one-off?”
After starting with the European competition, new manager Dyche will have a busy few weeks in the league. A trip to popular Bournemouth is scheduled for Sunday, while Forest also play at home to Manchester United and Leeds before the November international break.
