UK Edition
Martin O'Neill to become new Nottingham Forest manager after making huge impression during talks
Martin O'Neill is making an emotional return to Nottingham Forest as their new manager, with the Championship club also hopeful of persuading Roy Keane to join their promotion mission.
O'Neill will be named as Forest’s 11th manager since June 2011 on Tuesday after making a huge impression with Forest officials over the weekend.
The 66 year-old has agreed to return to the club where he spent a decade as a player, winning two European Cups and the First Division title under Brian Clough, and is expected to sign an 18-month deal.
Forest are also in negotiations with former midfielder Keane, who established a close partnership working together with O’Neill with the Republic of Ireland national team, and expect a response on Tuesday morning.
O’Neill quickly emerged as the Championship club's preferred candidate on a shortlist which also included former Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic and Carlos Carvalhal, after the departure of Aitor Karanka on Friday.
Jokanovic, the former Fulham manager, had been the initial No 1 target but his salary demands, and O’Neill’s enthuasiasm for the post during talks, ensured the Ulsterman jumped to the front of the queue.
O'Neill left his post as the Republic of Ireland manager in November by mutual agreement and he has been determined to return to the front line. He did hold talks with Stoke earlier last year before the club opted for Paul Lambert.
Now O’Neill is returning to Forest after “blowing away” ambitious owner Evangelos Marinakis with his drive for the job during talks. Confirmation of the appointment is expected on Tuesday morning.
Forest are currently 9th in the table, four points off the play-offs, and Marinakis is convinced the arrival of O’Neill, and potentially Keane as well, will galvanise the club towards a promotion challenge.
Funds will be made available for O’Neill in the January transfer window and his first game will be Bristol City at home this weekend. There are 19 games remaining in the season and Forest’s board believe the squad is good enough to be promoted, following a significant spend over the summer.
Forest will be O'Neill's first job in club management since March 2013, when he was sacked by Sunderland.
His reign at the Stadium of Light may have been a mixed experience but before that there were hugely successful spells at Leicester, Celtic and Aston Villa. At Leicester he first established his reputation as a manager by winning the League Cup twice before joining Celtic, where he won three titles, three Scottish Cups and a League Cup.
O’Neill then guided Villa to three successive places in the top six before his acrimonious departure on the eve of the 2010/11 season.
It promises to be a hugely emotive return to Forest for O’Neill, whose association with the club began in October 1971.
Under the legendary Clough he was a key member of the team which became the kings of Europe and in 2016 he was voted into Forest's all-time greatest XI.