Nottingham Forest Appoint Oliver Glasner as New Head Coach
Nottingham Forest have turned to serial European winner Oliver Glasner as their latest answer to a dugout that has barely stopped revolving.
The Austrian, fresh from trophy-laden spells at Crystal Palace and Eintracht Frankfurt, becomes Forest’s fifth head coach in less than a year, replacing Vitor Pereira, who was dismissed on Tuesday – just two minutes before an exit clause in his contract was due to expire.
Forest hit reset. Again.
Nuno Espirito Santo started last season in charge. Since September, Ange Postecoglou, Sean Dyche and Pereira have all taken a turn in the technical area. Now it is Glasner’s turn to try to bring order to the chaos at the City Ground.
Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis made no attempt to play down the scale of his expectations.
“Oliver is a winner,” he said, stressing that from their conversations it was “clear that we share the same vision, the same ambition and the same relentless desire to succeed”.
Contact with Glasner, 51, was first made earlier in the summer, after his departure from Palace at the end of last season. Forest have moved quickly since deciding to part company with Pereira, and they have landed a coach whose recent CV carries serious weight.
A coach with a habit of making history
Glasner walked into Selhurst Park in 2024 and promptly delivered Crystal Palace’s first major honour, lifting the FA Cup in his debut season. He followed that by winning the Europa Conference League last term, then opened the new campaign with the Community Shield, beating Liverpool on penalties.
Those achievements added to a European pedigree already established at Eintracht Frankfurt, where he guided the German side to the Europa League title in 2021-22. He is now one of only three coaches to have won both the Europa League and the Conference League.
This is not a manager learning on the job. This is a coach who has consistently built sides that punch above their weight and thrive on big occasions.
Walking away at the top
Back in January, Glasner made it clear he would leave Palace at the end of the season, even as a new contract sat on the table. He wanted, as he put it then, a new challenge.
That challenge has arrived on the banks of the Trent.
“From my very first conversations with the owner and the leadership team, it was evident to me that they have a clear vision for this football club and complete trust and belief in me and my staff to build a strong future together over the long term,” Glasner said after his appointment was confirmed.
“That trust and shared commitment, together with the potential that I see within the squad, were key factors for me and I am excited about what we can achieve together.”
Ambition without a safety net
Marinakis has never hidden his appetite for scale. His words on Glasner’s unveiling underlined that this is not a hire made with mere survival in mind.
“He has consistently demonstrated throughout his career that he can build outstanding teams and deliver success against the strongest competition,” the owner said. “He has earned success through his leadership, his personality and the style of football his teams play.
“It has always been our goal to establish Nottingham Forest once again among the leading clubs in England and Europe. Our ambition is not simply to compete – our ambition is to win, to challenge for major honours and to create a football club that our supporters can be proud of for many years to come.”
The message is blunt: Forest do not see themselves as relegation scrappers or mid-table drifters. They want nights under the lights in Europe again, they want silverware, and they believe Glasner’s track record proves he can build a side to carry that weight.
The question now is not whether the Austrian has the credentials. He does. The question is whether a club that has burned through four managers in under a year can finally give one of them the time and stability to turn lofty ambition into something tangible.
