Nottingham Forest were beaten 3-1 by Leeds United on Friday as they continue to battle for Premier League survival
Nottingham Forest head coach Sean Dyche(Image: Getty)
Pressure is said to be mounting on head coach Sean Dyche as Nottingham Forest’s Premier League status hangs in the balance.
The Reds squandered an opportunity to move nine points clear of the relegation zone when they were well beaten by Leeds United on Friday night. The two sides had been level on points prior to kick-off at Elland Road, but it was the hosts who increased their buffer over the bottom three with a comfortable 3-1 win.
To make matters worse for Forest, West Ham United closed the gap on Dyche’s side to just three points with their 2-0 victory away to Burnley on Saturday. It makes for a huge game at the City Ground on Wednesday night, when bottom-of-the-table Wolverhampton Wanderers will be the visitors.
Ahead of that clash, Dyche is said to be “under increasing pressure” as the Reds remain in a battle for survival. According to the BBC, the manner of Friday’s defeat to Leeds has only added to “the internal scrutiny” on the Forest boss.
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Support for the 54-year-old within the club is reportedly not as “solid” as it previously has been. It has been claimed by talkSPORT, owner Evangelos Marinakis expected “a bigger upturn” in the team’s results under their third manager of the season.
Dyche was appointed in October after the disastrous 39-day tenure of Ange Postecoglou. Prior to the former Tottenham Hotspur chief’s short spell at the helm, Nuno Espirito Santo had been dismissed three games into the campaign amid a falling-out behind the scenes.
Now in charge of West Ham, it appears likely Nuno will influence his former club’s fate one way or another. The Hammers host Manchester United on Tuesday, so could further close the gap or be level on points with the Reds by the time they take on Wolves.
The loss to Leeds ended a mini unbeaten run for Dyche’s men. They had gone four without defeat in the league prior to taking on the Whites.
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“When we got here, we were two points in the relegation zone. Now, we are six points out of it,” Dyche said after the full-time whistle at Elland Road.
“The work continues. I wasn’t getting carried away when we beat Liverpool 3-0. I wasn’t getting carried away when we beat Tottenham 3-0 and people were saying it was one of the best performances they’d seen from this team in the Premier League.
“My messages often stay the same. The work is still the work and still has to be done.
“The work isn’t done for Leeds tonight, they know that. I know if we had won, the work wouldn’t be done.
“There is a lot of football still to be played. I look at whether the work is done at the end of the season, not when we win or lose a game.”
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