NOTTINGHAM FOREST have dismissed manager Nuno Espírito Santo following a tumultuous start to the season.
Nuno, 51, led Forest to seventh place last season, which poses as their best Premier League finish since snatching third place in 1995.
Nottingham returned to Europe under the Portuguese tactician for the first time in 20 years and made it to the Europa League following Crystal Palace’s relegation to the Conference League due to multi-club ownership issues.
However, the Tricky Trees still decided to part ways with the ex-Tottenham boss in the middle of the night with a blunt 80-word statement.
Forest didn’t get into detail regarding the reason why Nuno was let go but attributed the decision to “recent circumstances”.
Nevertheless, Nottingham paid tribute to the ex-Wolves boss’ success at City Ground since taking over in 2023 and insist he will “always hold a special place in our journey”.
Forest released the following statement: “Nottingham Forest Football Club confirms that, following recent circumstances, Nuno Espírito Santo has today been relieved of his duties as Head Coach.
“The Club thanks Nuno for his contribution during a very successful era at the City Ground, in particular his role in the 2024/25 season, which will forever be remembered fondly in the history of the Club.
“As someone who played a pivotal role in our success last season, he will always hold a special place in our journey.”
Questions regarding Nuno’s position at the club were raised after Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis stormed the pitch following a 2-2 draw with Leicester in May.
That was the match that effectively ended the club’s Champions League qualification hopes.
The club insisted Marinakis was frustrated with the way Taiwo Awoniyi’s serious injury was handled by medical staff and was in fact not angry with the manager.
But Nuno’s future seriously plunged into uncertainty after a bombastic press conference last month ahead of the club’s second game of the season when he claimed his relationship with Marinakis was no longer close.
That was when reports emerged suggesting the manager had fallen out with Edu Gaspar, who had just taken over as Global Head of Football overseeing all of Marinakis’ clubs, including Olympiacos and Rio Ave.
The ex-Forest boss then downplayed the situation in his pre-match interview at Palace a few days later insisting he is staying at City Ground.
And Marinakis himself added that he still had confidence in Nuno after attending the Europa League draw.
However, the club ultimately decided to move on without the Portuguese head coach.
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