Oliver Glasner knew he had found a kindred spirit when he sat down with Evangelos Marinakis over a seafood platter in Athens. "I probably found one of the few people who is more ambitious than I am," the new Nottingham Forest head coach said, describing the meeting that convinced him to become the club's fifth manager in less than a year.
Glasner, who signed a three-year deal after leaving Crystal Palace, where he won the FA Cup, Europa Conference League and Community Shield, replaces Vítor Pereira – sacked just two minutes before a clause that would have allowed Forest to terminate his contract expired in June. Pereira's dismissal followed a carousel that began with Nuno Espírito Santo's breakdown in relationship with the hierarchy last August, continued with Ange Postecoglou's 39-day reign ended by a defeat to Chelsea, and Sean Dyche's 114-day stint.
“Oliver Glasner says Marinakis's ambition over seafood lured him to Nottingham Forest as its fifth manager in a year.”
"Nobody wants to get divorced," Glasner said at his unveiling, a little red-faced after catching the sun during Tuesday's training session. "When we had the talks, that's why we were also committed on a three-year contract. We said, 'OK, we want to get stability and consistency because that's what the owner and I are convinced of.' That's the foundation of success."
Glasner's first Premier League game in charge will be at home to Leeds on 22 August, but he first takes his side across the Trent to Notts County for Saturday's opening pre-season friendly. He wants to bring back the "sweet honey" of European football after Forest avoided relegation and reached the Europa League semi-finals last season. "These players felt the sweet honey of playing European football and this year it's just butter – no honey – on the toast. Hopefully, next year it will be sweeter."
To help that cause, Forest are pushing to make Tottenham midfielder Lucas Bergvall their club-record signing, with a £45m offer reported, while midfielder Xaver Schlager is close to joining on a free transfer after leaving RB Leipzig. Glasner is hopeful of having at least two new signings for next week's Portugal training camp. "My personal history shows that what we are asking them to do – the habits we want them to do – it takes three to six months to see it for the first time," he said. "I'm no magician."
An end-of-season study by the League Managers Association found the average tenure of sacked Premier League managers had fallen below a year, having been more than three years as recently as 2021-22. Across the English leagues, 43 managers were sacked, up 2% from last season, with 65 managerial movements – a rise of 12%. Glasner acknowledged the statistics but remains undeterred: "If I had felt there was no potential any more, I wouldn't have signed."
