Nottingham Forest Appoint Oliver Glasner as New Head Coach
Nottingham Forest have turned to serial European winner Oliver Glasner as their latest answer to the club’s managerial carousel, appointing the Austrian as their fifth head coach in less than a year.
The 51-year-old, who left Crystal Palace at the end of last season, replaces Vitor Pereira, sacked on Tuesday in a ruthlessly timed decision that came just two minutes before an exit clause in his contract was due to expire. It was a brutal end for Pereira, and a clear signal of how urgently Forest’s ownership wanted Glasner in the building.
From turbulence to a trophy specialist
Forest’s dugout has barely had time to cool across the past 12 months. Nuno Espirito Santo started last season in charge. Ange Postecoglou, Sean Dyche and then Pereira all took a turn at steering a club still wrestling with the demands of the Premier League and its own expectations.
Now comes Glasner, a coach with a habit of turning potential into silverware.
He arrived at Crystal Palace in 2024 and immediately rewrote the club’s history. In his first season, Palace lifted the FA Cup, their first major honour. He followed that by winning the Europa Conference League the next year, then opened this season by beating Liverpool on penalties to claim the Community Shield.
Those trophies added to a European pedigree already burnished at Eintracht Frankfurt, where he led the Bundesliga side to the Europa League title in 2021-22. Glasner is one of only three coaches to have won both the Europa League and the Europa Conference League – a rare profile for a club trying to re-establish itself among the continent’s elite.
A calculated break from Palace
Glasner’s departure from Selhurst Park never came from a lack of opportunity. In January, he made it clear he would leave at the end of the season in search of a new challenge, even with a fresh contract on the table. That decision now leads him to the City Ground and a club whose ambition has outpaced its stability.
Contact between Forest and Glasner began earlier in the summer, long before Pereira’s short reign unravelled. When the axe finally fell this week, the succession felt less like a scramble and more like the execution of a plan already in motion.
On taking the job, Glasner spoke of alignment and trust.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
Marinakis raises the stakes
Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis did not hide the scale of his expectations. His words framed this appointment not as a reset, but as an escalation.
“Oliver is a winner,” Marinakis said. “It was clear that we share the same vision, the same ambition and the same relentless desire to succeed.”
“He has consistently demonstrated throughout his career that he can build outstanding teams and deliver success against the strongest competition. He has earned success through his leadership, his personality and the style of football his teams play.”
For Marinakis, this is about more than survival or mid-table comfort.
“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.”
A bold vision, a fragile platform
The message is unmistakable: Forest want to stop talking about staying up and start talking about winning. Glasner’s track record suggests he knows how to build teams that punch above their weight on big stages, marrying organisation with an aggressive, front-foot style that excites supporters.
The question is whether he will be given the time and calm he enjoyed at Frankfurt and Palace. Five head coaches in under a year is not the backdrop most managers dream of. It is, however, the reality Glasner walks into.
Forest have entrusted a proven European operator with their long-term project. Now the club must prove it can match his patience, as well as his ambition.
