Former Nottingham Nottingham Forest manager Mark Warburton has come out and disagreed with the decision to sack him in 2017.
The 61-year-old was dismissed after a defeat against Sunderland in 2017, with Evangelos Marinakis wanting a different manager to take the club forward.
Warburton was subsequently replaced by Aitor Karanka, a manager with a track record of winning promotion from the Championship.
However, six years on from the decision to sack him, Warburton has opened up about the situation with the Forest hierarchy.
READ: ‘I succeeded’… Manager sacked by Nottingham Forest in 2017 thinks he did a good job
Mark Warburton on his Nottingham Forest sacking
Speaking on the ScotScore podcast, the former Reds boss admitted he didn’t agree with the decision that saw him leave the City Ground.
“The KPI [Key Performance Indicator] was to reduce the size of the squad which was 36, reduce the age it was 29 and finish mid-table with a foundation to build on.
“Come the end of 2017, the average age of the squad was 22, there were 24 players in the squad and we were 12th out of 24.
“So you could not have matched the KPIs more, but the chairman came in and said that the owners want to make a change.”
“Football is driven by emotions, the club wanted to be higher because it’s Nottingham Forest but it doesn’t work that way, what about Ipswich, Sunderland, Wigan and Bolton.”
Solid foundations to build on
Warburton did consolidate the club in a very chaotic period, with the former Rangers boss still deserving of credit for the work he did at the City Ground.
However, his football wasn’t easy on the eye, with Warburton ultimately not the right man to lead the club forward.
That being said, Warburton deserves praise for keeping the Reds up as it’s unimaginable where the club would be today had it suffered relegation.
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