Ian Wright thinks the ambitions of Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis are unrealistic at present. The Reds sacked Steve Cooper this week to end his tenure that lasted over two years.
Forest are just five points above the relegation zone in the Premier League. They’ve been on an alarming run of form and have won just one game in the last 13 outings.
The Reds have appointed Nuno Espirito Santo to replace the outgoing boss. He’s penned a two-and-a-half-year contract at the football club and his first game will come against Bournemouth on Saturday.
Wright thinks Marinakis is being over the top at Forest
There isn’t a deal wrong with being ambitious but they have to be realistic. Right now, Forest doing anything other than finishing in the lower echelons of the table seems inconceivable.
Marinakis was loyal to Cooper and backed him until the end. However, he didn’t let him know he was getting the sack, with Ross Wilson the man who had to deliver the unfortunate news.
Wright has slammed Marinakis to some extent and it’s fair to say that he’s not impressed with the Forest owner and his unrealistic expectations that he placed on Cooper.
He told the Stick to Football podcast: “When you listen to the owner talking about a top 10 team and you are just blasting loads of players into this guy, it’s unrealistic his ambition with respect to what he wants to do.
“You look at the players and Gibbs-White looks like he’s got potential and can kick on but all the signings and everybody they have got, we are not talking about bringing in Neto or Neves, or that kind of signing where you think he’s amazing, he’ll take us to that next level.
“They have spent a lot of money but he hasn’t got the players who are going to make them push for 10th, It’s unrealistic with the squad they have got.”
Wright is spot on about Forest
Lots of clubs have to work tirelessly to settle as a Premier League club. Take Brighton for example, they finished 15th twice, 17th and 16th before they eventually kicked on and became the dominant Europa League-playing force that they are today.
Marinakis needs to temper his expectations a little bit, although having a dream isn’t really a problem. Wright is correct when he says that the current squad simply isn’t good enough for a top 10 finish.
Espirito Santo is about to find that out and he will hope to make some additions in January. However, with the squad relatively bloated some players will probably need to leave too.
Wright spent some time during his career on loan at the City Ground. He would surely love to see the team in contention for a top 10 finish but right now that does feel way beyond their reach.
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