Oliver Glasner has drawn a line under what he sees as a soft approach at Nottingham Forest. After Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at Brentford left his side 19th in the Premier League, the Austrian told his players they either commit to his way of working or the club will be looking for yet another head coach.
“It’s now time not to make compromises, it’s now time to show a clear way and everybody has to follow,” Glasner said on Match of the Day, as reported by BBC Sport. “And if they don’t want to follow, then I guess then the sixth manager will come in.”
The number is not a figure of speech. Since the start of last season Forest have been led by Nuno Espirito Santo, Ange Postecoglou, Sean Dyche, Vitor Pereira and now Glasner, who arrived in the summer after winning the FA Cup, the Community Shield and the Conference League with Crystal Palace.
One win in nine and a goal problem
The trip to west London followed a pattern that has become familiar. A Nikola Milenkovic own goal put Brentford ahead and Igor Thiago added the second with 14 minutes left, while Forest managed a single shot on target all afternoon. Supporters in the away end booed the team off at full time.
Forest have now won once in nine league games, sit a point above the bottom of the table and have scored just six times, fewer than any other side in the division. That is despite creating more than most: the BBC notes that Forest rank fourth for expected goals this season, while summer signing Liam Delap has one league goal from eight appearances since his £50m move from Chelsea.
Glasner admitted after the game that losing four of the last five league matches is simply not good enough. In October his new side also came unstuck against his old one, beaten 3-1 at Selhurst Park.
“I’m here not to be loved”
In his press conference Glasner refused to point the finger at individuals. “I always take responsibility for the things I decided,” he told reporters, according to Sky Sports. “I decided everything. It’s just one person to blame, and that’s me.”
He was equally clear that his own tone will harden. “I don’t need to be loved. I’m here not to be loved. I’m here to bring success to this club,” he said, and summed up the shift on BBC Radio 5 Live: “We start with hugging,” before adding: “If hugging doesn’t work, we try the opposite.”
Glasner also revealed that one player had asked to make his own way home from London rather than travel with the squad. He banged the table as he described his answer. “I was asked if a player can drive home alone. I said no,” he said. “No, go with the bus like everybody else. No extras.”
Is Glasner’s job at risk?
Owner Evangelos Marinakis is described by Sky Sports as a ruthless decision-maker, which is why the head coach’s remarks drew so much attention. For now, though, BBC Sport reports that Glasner is thought to be safe. He signed a three-year deal less than four months ago, and the broadcaster says multiple sources put his salary at around £10m a year, which would make a dismissal costly.
Glasner himself framed the problem as bigger than one coach, saying the club has fallen into a “pattern” of relegation struggles in recent seasons. Forest’s next league fixture is at home to Manchester City, and the players will have heard exactly what their head coach expects of them.
