Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo’s future has been thrown into fresh doubt after he admitted his relationship with Evangelos Marinakis was ‘not so good’ – remarks that have reportedly left the club’s billionaire owner stunned.
There is now said to be a genuine possibility that Nuno will not be in the dugout for Sunday’s clash with Crystal Palace, with growing speculation over whether he can survive the fallout.
Former Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou is among those being linked should Forest look for an alternative.
Club chiefs had made no move to sack him before this week’s comments, but his words have caused some within Forest to question his commitment and even fear he is attempting to engineer his own exit, according to Sky Sports.
The timing has provoked anger inside the club, with Nuno’s remarks coming just 48 hours before a Premier League home fixture that already carries plenty of pressure.
It also follows criticism from the Portuguese coach a week earlier, when he claimed his squad was ‘unbalanced’ and ‘very, very far’ from being ready for the new campaign.
Nuno Espirito Santo may not be in charge of Nottingham Forest at Crystal Palace on Sunday
Ex-Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou is said to be a contender to replace Nuno should he leave
Since then Marinakis has thrown his financial weight behind the team, sanctioning more than £118million worth of deals in a single week, including Omari Hutchinson, Arnaud Kalimuendo and Douglas Luiz.
That spree was intended to underline the owner’s backing – but Nuno’s mood appears unchanged.
Behind the scenes, tensions are thought to centre on the arrival of Edu, appointed last month as global head of football to oversee recruitment across Marinakis’ multi-club network.
Forest insist Nuno’s role has not changed since he took charge in December 2023 – stressing that while he has influence on targets, his primary responsibility remains coaching and organising the first team.
Supporters will recall this is not the first sign of friction between coach and owner. Last spring, Marinakis stormed onto the City Ground pitch to berate Nuno following a 2-2 draw with Leicester, a public confrontation that left many uneasy.
On the pitch, Forest had made a strong start to the new season, beating Brentford 3-1 away on the opening weekend. But the momentum has been overshadowed by off-field upheaval.
Nuno addressed reporters on Friday with a candid admission of how his relationship with Marinakis has deteriorated: ‘I always had a very good relationship with the owner. Last season was very, very, very close, almost on a daily basis. This season, not so well, but I always believe that dialogue and your opinions are always valid because my concern is the squad and the season that we have ahead of us.
‘But our relationship has changed. It’s not so close, it’s not on a daily basis. It’s not good, I think everybody at the club should be together but it’s not the reality.’
Evangelos Marinakis and Nuno clashed in public last season and appear to be at odds again
Nuno recently claimed that his relationship with Forest owner Marinakis was ‘not so good’
He had also raised eyebrows the previous week when he told Sky Sports: ‘We are very far – very, very far – from where we should be. We are very far in terms of preparation, in terms of planning, in terms of the squad.
‘The plans that we had didn’t come through. The preparation in terms of the squad was not ideal. We didn’t have a chance to create the bond – and this is what I think is more important. Because we don’t know which squad we have. We have players working here who know they’re going to leave on loan. We have a major problem.’
Meanwhile, Postecoglou is currently out of work after being sacked by Tottenham in June. Despite winning the Europa League with Spurs last season, their worst-ever Premier League finish – 17th – cost him his job.
The Australian had guided Spurs to fifth place in his first season and left the club with a 46.53 per cent win rate from his 101 matches in all competitions. That figure is remarkably similar to Nuno’s record during his brief spell in north London, where he won 47.06 per cent of his 17 games before being dismissed in November 2021.
