Ange Postecoglou is set to be named Nottingham Forest’s new head coach following the dismissal of Nuno Espirito Santo. The 60-year-old Australian, who left Tottenham Hotspur in June, is expected to be officially confirmed within 24 hours and could be in the dugout when Forest face Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday. He will be joined by several members of his former Spurs coaching staff.
Postecoglou had been out of management since leaving Spurs just weeks after guiding them to the Europa League title with victory over Manchester United, the club’s first major trophy in 17 years. Despite that success, Spurs endured a poor domestic season, finishing 17th with 22 losses — the most of any team not relegated from a 38-game Premier League season.
Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has long admired Postecoglou, praising him in July for his achievements and his pride in his Greek heritage. Marinakis described him as a man “proud to be Greek” who “achieved success with a team that had not won any titles for years.”
Postecoglou’s managerial career spans two decades, beginning in Australia, where he managed multiple clubs and the national youth sides before taking charge of the Australia senior team from 2013 to 2017. He then moved to Japan, where he won the J-League title with Yokohama F. Marinos in 2019, and later to Scotland, where he secured five domestic trophies in two seasons with Celtic. He guided Spurs to a fifth-place Premier League finish in his first season, before their domestic form faltered in 2024–25 despite their Europa League triumph.
Nuno Espirito Santo leaves Forest after leading the club to a seventh-place finish last season, securing European football for the first time in three decades. However, his relationship with the club’s new global head of football Edu reportedly broke down irreparably, and tensions also grew over summer transfer business. Nuno voiced frustration over recruitment, describing himself as “very worried” on the eve of the new campaign, though Forest went on to complete 13 signings, including a club-record deal for Omari Hutchinson.
Forest have taken four points from their opening three matches of the season. Nuno’s final game in charge was a 3-0 home defeat to West Ham United before the international break.