OFFICIAL: Nottingham Forest SACK Sean Dyche in the middle of the night

Robin Bairner

• 12 Feb 2026 01:03 CST
• 3 min read

News

Nottingham Forest acted to sack Sean Dyche following the club’s 0-0 Premier League draw with Wolves on Wednesday, which leaves the club in the thick of a relegation battle.

Forest’s announcement that Dyche had lost his job arrived at close to 12:30am.

He becomes the third City Ground boss to be sacked this season, following Nuno Espirito Santo and Ange Postecoglou as the notoriously limited patience of owner Evangelos Marinakis ran out.

Nottingham Forest make Dyche sack announcement

Forest’s announcement of Dyche’s sacking ran to only 57 words and was published past midnight.

“Nottingham Forest Football Club can confirm that Sean Dyche has been relieved of his duties as head coach,” the statement reads.

“We would like to thank Sean and his staff for their efforts during their time at the club and we wish them the best of luck for the future. We will be making no further comment at this time.”

What Dyche said

Dyche was given only 17 matches to turn Forest around, and despite winning 47.1% of his games, seemed resigned to his fate following the draw with Wolves.

“The owner has been fair to me, without a shadow of a doubt. If anyone chooses to change in football now, that's their decision. We've all seen it,” he said.

“People can demand change, and then it's always whether they change or not. I just work very hard. I care about this club. I've made that clear. I'm working very hard.

“If the owner wants to make a change, then that's up to him, and that's the way football is now, that's just the reality of it.”

Who will be Nottingham Forest’s next manager?

Forest now need to make a quick decision over who their next manager will be as they approach a vital stage of the campaign.

Former Wolves boss Vitor Pereira is considered to be the favourite for the post, The Athletic reports.

Will Forest survive?

With a three-point cushion over improving West Ham, nothing seems certain for Forest now.

The Hammers, led by Nuno, who would surely relish relegating Marinakis’ side after falling out with the Greek early in the season, have won three of their last five games.

Forest, meanwhile, are the Premier League’s second lowest scorers on just 25 goals in 26 games and have struggled in a series of winnable games. Against Crystal Palace, Leeds and Wolves, they picked up just two points, leading to their owner ultimately sacking Dyche.

The fixture list, meanwhile, looks tough. Next up is a home clash against Liverpool, while there are also two legs of the Europa League play-off against Fenerbahce and trips to Brighton and Manchester City to come in the next month.