Nottingham Forest have five options to replace Ange Postecoglou after brutal sacking

There will be no second season trophy for Ange Postecoglou at Nottingham Forest. Barely five months after delivering the Europa League for Tottenham Hotspur, where he fulfilled his promise to win a trophy in his second campaign at the club, the Australian was sacked by Forest after only 39 days.

The ex-Celtic manager's final match was a 3-0 home defeat to Chelsea, where his players missed numerous chances and failed to defend from crosses once again. Postecoglou did not even have time to carry out a post-match press conference or interview before news of his dismissal was officially released by the club. He departs with Forest in the relegation zone and 25th in the Europa League table, having only managed a draw and one loss in his first two European matches. As Forest look ahead to a third manager this season, Express Sport considers five managers who are available to Reds owner Evangelos Marinakis.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is currently a free agent having been sacked by Besiktas at the end of August. Things had been going well for the former Manchester United manager in Turkey, as he steared them to a respectable fourth-placed finish.

But the walls caved in on him when they lost to Swiss side Lausanne in the Conference League play-offs, ending their hopes of competing in Europe this season. The Turkish heavyweights wasted no time in dismissing the Norwegian.

Solskjaer may be an ideal choice for Forest, as he has experience in coming into a club mid-season and quickly improving results and performances. The Baby-faced Assassin's best spells at United saw the Red Devils overcome teams on the counter-attack, playing with great speed and capitalising on turnovers, similar to Nuno Espirito-Santo's best work at the City Ground.

The United legend would surely relish a return to the Premier League, nearly four years to the day he was dismissed as manager of the Red Devils.

Sean Dyche

At present, Forest are in a relegation scrap, having dropped into 18th position. When it comes to dragging teams above those dreaded dotted lines, there is arguably no better manager than Sean Dyche.

Everton were on the cusp of dropping down to the Championship in the final stages of their new stadium's construction, which would have been disastrous, until Dyche came in and steadied the ship. In the 2023-24 campaign, the Toffees were deducted eight points, but their performances and results were so solid, they got to 40 points, finishing 14 points above the drop zone.

With the season being a few months old and the Europa League campaign also being in its infancy, Marinakis may not think it's time to break the 'In case of relegation' glass and bring Dyche in yet. However, the ex-Burnley boss would surely jump at the chance to takeover a team with Forest's talent and place in Europe.

At the time of writing, Dyche is the heavy favourite with bookies to take over on Trentside.

Erik ten Hag

Erik ten Hag had barely finished licking his wounds from his Man United sacking before he was dismissed by Bayer Leverkusen. The Dutchman was appointed as Xabi Alonso's replacement, but was shown the door after ten weeks due to poor results.

However, Marinakis appointed Postecoglou because he thought the Australian could deliver the Europa League or another trophy. What Ten Hag does bring is a track record of winning trophies, having won the League Cup and the FA Cup at United as well as three Eredivisie titles with Ajax.

Considering his nightmare ten weeks with Leverkusen, appointing Ten Hag after so quickly dismissing Postecoglou would surely be a huge risk. Nevetheless, if Marinakis is brave enough to role the dice again, then he may go all in on Ten Hag.

Marco Silva

This move would likely be one of the more difficult ones for Forest, with Marco Silva still in situ at Fulham. However, the Portuguese manager was left frustrated by the lack of signings the Cottagers completed in the summer.

He also has a track record of leaving clubs mid-season for new opportunities, having departed Watford to join Everton. Moreover, and perhaps most significantly, him and Marinakis are familiar with each other, as Silva was in charge of Olympiacos for just over a year.

That experience may make Silva less nervous about taking the position than other managers, given he also won the Greek Championship during his brief time in Greece.

Brendan Rodgers

Brendan Rodgers returned to Celtic in the summer of 2023, shortly after presiding over Leicester City's relegation campaign. Before things suddenly went wrong at the King Power Stadium, the Foxes were more than punching above their weight under the Northern Irishman.

He became the first manager in Leicester's history to win the FA Cup and he also guided them into the Europa League, while also coming within a whisker of Champions League qualification. Forest's current team is similar to the one Rodgers had when he was enjoying his best spells at Leicester.

There are many good players who are full internationals at the City Ground. Rodgers has left Celtic before and may well do so again if Marinakis' pitch is convincing enough. But with the Glaswegian heavyweights competing with Hearts in the Scottish Premiership title race and also playing in the Europa League, Rodgers may not be ready to throw in the towel in Scotland to takeover a side in the Premier League relegation zone.

Other candidates mentioned for the vacancy at Forest include Roberton Mancini, Rafael Benitez, Steven Gerrard, Danny Rohl and Steve Cooper.