Pragmatic Dyche could bring calm after the noise

Former Forest youth player would inherit a team suited to his defence-first style and evoke a bit of the Clough era

- Will Unwin

Sean Dyche has often been spotted at the City Ground while out of work. The Nottingham Forest job has been of interest to him for a long time, and not only because he lives close by.

The circumstances in which the role has become available are not ideal for an incoming head coach but his impending appointment is the pragmatic choice in ludicrous circumstances.

Ange Postecoglou was never the right man, inheriting a squad that did not suit his style and did not adapt quickly enough, though it did not help that he told the players their previous achievements meant nothing. His tenure will go down in history for all the wrong reasons. Dyche, on the other hand, has plenty of respect for what was achieved at Forest under Nuno Espirito Santo and is far more aligned with that conservatism than with what was witnessed under Postecoglou.

Forest need someone who will not require time to assess what they are working with, and Dyche knows this squad well, having watched from near and far. He had been thought about at the club for a while because of his record in the Premier League with Burnley and Everton. Forest were impressed by his work at Everton, where in 2024 he would have finished level with Brighton and Bournemouth, two lauded clubs, but for a points deduction. It showed he was getting the best from the squad and not being distracted by off-field matters.