“He’s not happy” – Oliver Glasner admits to Marinakis talks after Nottingham Forest start

Oliver Glasner has admitted he’s held talks with Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis following their disastrous start to the season.

Forest currently sit 19^th in the table with six points from their first nine games of the season, having won just once and lost six so far.

It is not the start to the season they were anticipating when they appointed Glasner in the summer.

He arrived after being convinced by Marinakis to take the job following his spell at Crystal Palace. Glasner has admitted himself that it was talks with the Greek owner that convinced him to take the role. A reported £11.5m to 13m a season wage packet certainly helped as well.

Nottingham Forest are yet to see any value for that, though. Their current tally after nine games means they are, statistically at least, of course for 25 points. They are averaging 0.67 points per game. To reach a safer threshold of 38 points, that would need to raise to 1.1 points per game.

FOREST’S MANAGERS UNDER MARINAKIS Since May 2017 · Permanent and caretaker managers

Manager	Spell	What they did
Mark Warburton	Mar–Dec 2017	Already in charge at the takeover. Sacked with Forest 14th in the Championship.
Gary Brazil Caretaker	Dec 2017–Jan 2018	Oversaw the memorable 4–2 FA Cup win over holders Arsenal.
Aitor Karanka	Jan 2018–Jan 2019	Finished 17th in 2017/18. Departed with Forest seventh the following season, still in play-off contention.
Simon Ireland Caretaker	Jan 2019	Took charge of one match: a 2–0 defeat at Reading.
Martin O’Neill	Jan–Jun 2019	Finished ninth in the Championship. Replaced that summer after a short spell.
Sabri Lamouchi	Jun 2019–Oct 2020	Finished seventh in 2019/20, missing the play-offs on goal difference on the final day. Sacked after losing the next season’s opening four league games.
Chris Hughton	Oct 2020–Sep 2021	Finished 17th in 2020/21. Departed after a winless start to the following league campaign.
Steven Reid Caretaker	Sep 2021	Won 2–0 at Huddersfield in his only match, securing Forest’s first league victory of the season.
Steve Cooper	Sep 2021–Dec 2023	Won promotion through the 2022 Championship play-offs, ending a 23-year top-flight absence. Kept Forest up in 2022/23, finishing 16th.
Nuno Espírito Santo	Dec 2023–Sep 2025	Secured survival in 2023/24 despite a points deduction. Finished seventh in 2024/25, returning Forest to Europe, and reached the FA Cup semi-finals.
Ange Postecoglou	Sep–Oct 2025	Lasted 39 days. Failed to win any of his eight matches before being dismissed.
Sean Dyche	Oct 2025–Feb 2026	Collected 22 points from 18 league matches. Left Forest 17th, three points above the relegation zone.
Vítor Pereira	Feb–Jul 2026	Secured Premier League survival in 16th and reached the Europa League semi-finals, Forest’s first European semi-final since 1984.
Oliver Glasner	Jul 2026–present	Currently in his first season. Forest have six points from nine Premier League matches, sitting 19th.
14 MANAGERS INCLUDING CARETAKERS · 11 PERMANENT

Marinakis completed his takeover on 18 May 2017. Warburton’s full spell is shown because he was already manager at that point; his earlier relegation escape preceded the takeover. Gary Brazil’s separate January–March 2017 caretaker spell is excluded.
Dates are shown by month. Current-season figures are a snapshot, not a final outcome.
Updated: 5 November 2026.

SPORT WITNESS

Marinakis is unhappy

The pressure is on Glasner as a result, particularly given the man who appointed him. Marinakis is not known for showing patience with his managers.

Last season alone the Greek magnate sacked four managers, while he’s sacked 11 in just nine years of ownership at the club. That’s a record Glasner is more than aware of at this point. But it seems he isn’t fearing for his job just yet.

“We are in regular and very good contact,” he told Sky Austria.

“Naturally, he’s not happy with our start. He’s not happy with the results, and he’s not happy with the mistakes we’re making, none of us are.

“I didn’t step into this hot seat just for the fun of it. We discussed beforehand that things might get a bit shaky and that it would be a rocky road. But I have 100% backing.”

Underlying numbers

Glasner is, perhaps, holding on to the fact that the data offers him some backing, and evidence that things could change for Nottingham Forest soon.

Offensively they sit 20^th in terms of goals scored, but they have actually managed the fifth best xG in the league so far. Based on the quality of the chances they have created, they should have scored over 14 goals.

Defensively too, the numbers are surprising. While they are mid-table for goals conceded, they actually have a remarkably low xGA (expected goals against) of just 9.2. That’s the second best in the league, behind Arsenal.

The underlying metrics then, show that they are a top six side. It is poor execution that is costing them, something Glasner wants to highlight.

“The strange thing about this situation is that, statistically, we have the second-best defence and the fifth-best attack in the league, yet we sit in 19th place in the table,” he added.

“If you look at the data, we should be third. It’s unbelievable how we’re underperforming.

“We keep making simple mistakes that lead to conceding goals, while at the other end, we’re squandering a huge number of scoring chances. That’s why I’ve said: we can’t just keep taking comfort in these great statistics, we need results, we need efficiency.”