Keane Notes Nottingham Forest’s Coaching Change Involves More Than Just Results

The exit of Nuno Espírito Santo as head coach of Nottingham Forest is widely seen as the result of a clash with club owner Evangelos Marinakis, a view shared by Manchester United legend Roy Keane.

Details: Keane points out that managing a club’s leadership is one of the biggest challenges for a coach. Santo seemed to struggle in this area, leading to his departure and the appointment of Ange Postecoglou.

Quote: “The hardest part of being a manager is managing upwards. Clearly, he didn’t lose his job because of football results. Last season, he did quite well. But I still think the owner was fairly disappointed, believing the club should have made it to the Champions League.

In the end, it was a good season with qualification for Europe, but managing upwards remains an issue: when a sporting director comes in, in theory their main job is to support the manager. But some managers see them as a hindrance—whether it’s transfers or personal conflicts.

And if that person was brought in by the owner, then unfortunately, the owner will almost always side with the sporting director. Especially in this case, especially with the owner of Nottingham Forest. We’ve seen this before with Steve Cooper. I didn’t even bat an eye—that’s just how it works,” Keane said.