Exclusive: Former Everton And Burnley Boss Sean Dyche Was a Serious Contender For Notts Forest Job, But Ange Postecoglou Now Main Man

Former Everton and Burnley boss Sean Dyche was a serious contender to be the new Nottingham Forest boss, but the club did a late U-turn when former Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou made himself available, Sportsboom can exclusively reveal.

Our sources understand that Australian Postecoglou was playing his cards close to his chest having been sacked by Spurs at the end of last season.

The 60-year-old had been toying with the idea of managing in the Saudi Pro League and was carefully considering his next move before committing to a new project.

But after Portuguese manager Espirito Santo was brutally sacked last night after just three games of the new Premier League season, it emerged Postecoglou decided now is the time to get back into management after a three-month break from the game.

Ironically, it was Espirito Santo who was the leading candidate to replace Postecoglou before ex-Brentford boss Thomas Frank got the job.

Postecoglou guided Spurs to their first major trophy for 17 years last season with victory over Manchester United in the Europa League final.

But he too was ruthlessly sacked after a poor Premier League campaign which saw them finish a disappointing 17th place in the standings.

However, Postecolgou’s pedigree has never been in question having won a string of titles throughout his career, including the Scottish Premiership and Scottish League Cup – both twice – when he was boss of Celtic.

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Postecoglou won a memorable Treble with the club during the 2022-23 season and also won national titles with South Melbourne and Brisbane Roar in his native country.

However, our sources have learnt Forest had conversations with former Toffees and Clarets boss Dyche about the vacancy when they were weighing up whether to dismiss Espirito Santo.

Speculation about his future grew after he said he feared for his job after a breakdown in his relationship with owner Evangelos Marinakis.

Despite qualifying for Europe this season, Nuno Espirito’s position became even more uncertain after his remarks, with Marinakis having decided to go in a different direction.

Dyche was one of a handful of managers the Forest owner was understood to have sounded out as Nuno Espirito’s replacement, but in the end Postecoglou’s pedigree is what is understood to have made him the number one candidate.