Up to owner to make change - Dyche under major scrutiny

Nottingham Forest head coach Sean Dyche has acknowledged that his future rests solely in the hands of owner Evangelos Marinakis after a bruising goalless draw with bottom-of-the-table Wolves intensified scrutiny on his position.

Wednesday night’s stalemate at the City Ground, which featured a remarkable 35 Forest shots without reward, extended the club’s winless sequence and left them hovering three points above the relegation places. The result followed a limp 3-1 defeat at Leeds last weekend, a performance that BBC Sport reported had already triggered unease inside the club.

Boos cascaded around the stadium at full-time, a visceral sign that patience is eroding among supporters who had expected a routine victory against the league’s lowest side. Marinakis was seen shaking his head after substitute Lorenzo Lucca blazed over during a six-on-one break, the clearest of a succession of missed chances.

Sections of the fanbase are now openly questioning whether Dyche is the man to preserve Forest’s top-flight status, and senior figures are thought to share those reservations. “There is a feeling within the Forest hierarchy that Dyche’s appointment has not had the impact they had hoped,” club sources told BBC Sport.

Speaking candidly after the match, Dyche accepted the volatile climate. “The owner has been fair to me, without a shadow of a doubt,” he said. “If anyone chooses to change in football now, that’s their decision. We’ve all seen it.”

The 54-year-old, appointed on 21 October, initially galvanised the squad, winning seven of his first 12 fixtures. Measured from the day he took charge, Forest’s points haul would place them in mid-table, six clear of the drop zone. Yet a recent slide, coupled with the profligacy against Wolves, has shifted the narrative.

Dyche, who earlier on Wednesday had described management as “living with anger and resentment” in reference to Thomas Frank’s sacking at Tottenham, now finds himself the subject of the same speculation. “People can demand change, and then it’s always whether they change or not,” he added. “If the owner wants to make a change then that’s up to him, and that’s the way football is now.”

With no domestic fixture until 15 February, Forest’s next competitive assignment is the Europa League play-off first leg against Fenerbahce on 19 February. The extended break affords the board breathing space to assess candidates should they opt for a fourth permanent manager this season – a Premier League record.

Former Newcastle striker Alan Shearer urged caution. “I think with his know-how and his experience in the Premier League, I would without a doubt stick with Sean Dyche,” he told BBC Match of the Day. “For this battle at the bottom you wouldn’t want a better manager than him.”

Ex-Everton defender Phil Jagielka echoed that view but conceded results must improve. “Sean Dyche came in to do a job and that job was to make sure they stayed out of the relegation zone,” he said on BBC Radio 5 Live. “We know that this owner doesn’t like watching his team underperform and he’s not scared to make big decisions.”

Those decisions could come quickly. Dyche has offered no assurances, only realism. “Demand is getting higher and higher,” he admitted. “Expectation immediately grows.” For now, the waiting game begins, with Marinakis holding the cards and the City Ground clock ticking louder by the day.