Having seen their bid to bring Paul Hart back to the City Ground as a technical director founder on compensation grounds, Nottingham Forest will now look elsewhere for the man (or men) they want to replace Steve McClaren at the club.
The betting on who will take the job next has fluctuated wildly over the past week but as of Sunday morning Roy Keane is the clear favourite.
But does whoever come in to the club has to have been a former player with the Reds in order to be a success.
Stan Collymore, who has himself said he would be happy to help in any capacity, had this to say about the impending appointment.
“They should go back to the equivalent of Liverpool’s boot-room days and get people in who understand the club and the way the team plays.
“Moving forward, they might well go for an up-and-coming manager.
“But for me, until they employ Forest people, they won’t be successful or get back into the Premier League.”
The media seek opinions from former players for every club of course but Forest seem to be one of those sides where the word of those who played at the City Ground is particularly sought after.
It is almost as if, in the absence of the great man himself, those who played under Brian Clough, or in Collymore’s case under the last Forest boss to have been one of Cloughie's men, are being asked to voice what Clough himself would be thinking.
Collymore again: “I had the privilege of playing for Forest for a couple of very successful seasons. It was under Frank Clark but a lot of the players there had played for Brian Clough. So I saw what made Forest so special and unique.”
What do you think? Does it have to be an ex-player or is that irrelevant? Your thoughts are always welcome so click on the link below to get involved.
http://www.nottinghamforest-mad.co.uk/contact_us/index.shtml