Ange Postecoglou sacked by Forest after 39 days in charge
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Nicol: Marinakis is to blame for Postecoglou’s sacking (1:49)
Steve Nicol reacts to Nottingham Forest’s decision to sack Ange Postecoglou. (1:49)
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ESPN
Oct 18, 2025, 12:50 PM ET
Nottingham Forest have sacked Ange Postecoglou 39 days after appointing him as head coach on Sept. 9, and just minutes after the team’s defeat by Chelsea on Saturday.
Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis left his seat midway through his team’s 3-0 defeat at the City Ground, and an announcement on Postecoglou’s future was confirmed 19 minutes after full time.
Postecoglou failed to lead Forest to a single victory from his eight matches in charge.
It was Postecoglou’s fourth successive defeat in all competitions, and boos rang around the City Ground at full time as the Australian trudged from the field, not knowing that his short reign was over.
The 60-year-old had launched a staunch defense of his managerial record in Friday’s news conference and said if given the time «the story always ends the same … Me with a trophy».
Marinakis, however, decided there would be an alternative ending.
«Nottingham Forest Football Club can confirm that after a series of disappointing results and performances, Ange Postecoglou has been relieved of his duties as head coach with immediate effect,» the Premier League club said in a statement.
Postecoglou’s exit makes his reign the second shortest in Premier League history. Technically, Sam Allardyce’s 30 days in charge of Leeds United in 2023 is the record holder — he was brought in on May 3 in a last-ditch attempt to keep Leeds up, but after he failed to do so, his contract came to an end on June 2.
Les Reed has now fallen to third on the list. He was sacked 40 days after taking over at Charlton in 2006.
Postecoglou succeeded Nuno Espírito Santo after the Portuguese coach was sacked after reportedly falling out with Edu Gaspar, Forest’s head of global football.
The former Celtic boss was tasked with introducing a more expansive style of play but struggled in the face of continued fan support for his predecessor.
– How Ange Postecoglou’s eight-game Forest nightmare has unfolded
– Premier League table
Postecoglou has now been sacked by two different Premier League clubs in the space of four months.
He was relieved of his duties at Tottenham Hotspur after masterminding their Europa League triumph — the first trophy the club had won in 17 years.
Burnley‘s 2-0 win over Leeds United later on Saturday meant Forest will end the weekend in the relegation zone.
