Nottingham Forest announced the departure of manager Chris Hughton on Thursday.
The news came the morning after Forest’s sixth defeat in seven matches at the start of the Championship season, a run that leaves the club bottom of the table with just a solitary point.
“Nottingham Forest can confirm that Chris Hughton has been relieved of his duties as first team manager,” the club said in a statement.
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“The club would like to place on record its appreciation for Chris’ efforts.”
Hughton took over at Forest at a similar stage of last season after the club had parted company with Sabri Lamouchi following four straight losses.
Forest subsequently avoided relegation under the 62-year-old’s stewardship, winning 14 games in the remainder of the season.
“Chris joined the club in a difficult period for everyone in football and around the world and we thank him for the way he has conducted himself during his tenure,” Forest’s statement added.
What next for Nottingham Forest?
The club have announced that first-team coach Steven Reid will take over the side on an interim basis.
The former Blackburn and West Brom midfielder joined the club earlier in the summer after a stint with Steve Clarke’s coaching group at the Scotland national team.
According to Forest, “the search for the permanent successor has begun and the club will update supporters in due course”.
And Reid, who has yet to take on a full manager’s role but has extensive coaching experience, will be one of the candidates in the frame.
Forest have received heavy criticism in recent months for a trend of rash decisions and poor treatment of both fans and reporters.
“The whole board should have gone,” former Forest forward David Johnson wrote last week on Twitter.
“Just so angry and disappointed how this club is run,” he said.
“It’s embarrassing, they are a disgrace. The last time I said anything bad about the club, Giannis (Vrentzos, the club CEO) called me. I’ll wait for his call, I guess, as I was right the first time.”
Chris Hughton, Nottingham Forest manager
Image credit: Getty Images
What next for Chris Hughton?
The Forest post was never likely to be a long-term position for Hughton, who did his job in keeping the club up.
Forest have now sacked at least one manager very single year for a decade. And the next appointment will be the 19th managerial change at the club since 2011.
So the former Tottenham Hotspur full-back’s coaching reputation is far from soured.
This is the first sacking of the season in England’s top two tiers, but job offers are unlikely to be far away for a coach of Hughton’s reputation, with his successful five-year stint at Brighton & Hove Albion still relatively fresh in the memory.
Who next in the Championship sack race?
Wayne Rooney has the shortest odds to be the next manager to leave his Championship post.
Rooney’s Derby County have struggled at the start of the season, winning just one in seven. But the short odds may have as much to do with Rooney’s pulling power for other roles as it does his own job security.
Reading’s Veljko Paunovic and Sheffield United’s Slavisa Jokanovic are the next two coaches most at risk of losing their jobs, according to the bookmakers.
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