Nottingham Forest coach Nuno ‘worried’ about job amid tensions with owner Marinakis

NOTTINGHAM, England (AP) — Nottingham Forest coach Nuno Espirito Santo acknowledged he’s worried about his job security because of worsening relations with the club’s owner Evangelos Marinakis.

The Portuguese coach impressed last season in leading Forest to seventh place in the Premier League — with the club securing a place in Europe for the first time in 30 years — and opened this campaign with a win over Brentford.

Still, Nuno’s job was not safe despite signing an improved contract in June.

“I always had a very good relationship with the owner, last season (it) was very, very, very close,” Nuno said Friday during a news conference ahead of Sunday’s game against Crystal Palace. “This season, not so well. … And where there’s smoke, there’s fire, so I know how things work, but I’m here to do my job.”

He added that “I’m the first one to be worried” about the situation.

Marinakis, who also owns Greek champion Olympiakos, is known in soccer as a big personality with strong opinions on how his clubs are run.

Last week, Nuno criticized Forest’s offseason transfer activity, saying the club was wasting a good chance to develop. Leading that now is Edu Gaspar, the former Arsenal sporting director who was hired last month as Forest’s global head of football — a new role that has the Brazilian overseeing soccer operations and transfer strategy.

Forest, which faces the extra demands of eight Europa League games through January, has this week bolstered its squad by spending almost 100 million pounds ($135 million) to sign James McAtee, Omari Hutchinson, Arnaud Kalimuendo and Douglas Luiz.

“The reason behind it, I don’t know,” Nuno said of his relations with Marinakis. “The reality is that it’s not what it used to be. What it used to be was a good, respectful relationship, but was more based on trust and sharing opinions, and now it’s not so good.”

Forest is at Palace on Sunday after taking the London club’s place in the Europa League following a lengthy legal dispute with UEFA over rules on owners with stakes in multiple clubs.

Palace was demoted to the third-tier Conference League — which Forest had qualified for on merit.

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