🔗 Share this article

The emblem is bigger than every manager,” Sean Dyche stated at his unveiling as Nottingham Forest’s head coach, wearing a training kit with his initials. He then, corrected himself. “Well, there was a single manager who was likely as important as the crest – we all know who that was.”} Following that, an impression of Brian Clough, a crack at that distinctive accent. Lad, well done,’” he recalled, reminiscing about his three years as a youth player at the City Ground, the period he spent strolling down the Trent, with Del Boy, dashing past him and his manager’s voice invariably within earshot.

The coach shares a story of how, as a youth player, he and a couple of mates looked after the manager's yard at his residence in the area. Our weekly wage was minimal and he gave you a ten pounds to tend his lawn. So we actually thought: ‘This is decent.’ He’d prepare food for you and make sure you were well looked after. It was rather fun, not too much gardening.”

For Dyche, the appointment has been a long time in the making. He lives in the area and has a affection for the team. In lately, he and his long-term assistant his deputy, who was a member of the Forest side the previous occasion they were in European competition, in 1995‑96, have sometimes visited the local coffee shop where Forest legends such as a former player, another stalwart and Garry Birtles gather every week to talk stories from past and present. He will have to skip it this time to get ready for the arrival of the Portuguese side, undefeated this season, in the Europa League on Thursday evening.

“I’m looking forward to seeing the club legends,” said Dyche, who replaced Ange Postecoglou to become Forest’s third head coach of the season. I'll get an earful if I fail to deliver, so I better win some matches for them. Those fellows are important to me. A lot of supporters appreciate the legacy of this institution. I’ve got my own and now I’ve got a opportunity to reinvent my personal history, I guess, as manager.”

Dyche oversaw the team training for the initial session on this week, a short while after Postecoglou oversaw a 3‑0 at home loss by the London club that placed the club in the top division drop zone. Ryan Yates, who joined aged eight, admitted these are early days but Dyche and his team have alleviated some of the gloom.

His backroom team features one more club icon in Steve Stone, as well as a coach and another staff member, who featured for the team. “I feel like a massive asset of this organization is getting the connection between the fans, squad and manager and, frankly, the last few weeks we haven’t had a good feeling around here,” Yates stated. “The new manager and his staff have introduced that sense of vitality and energy.”

He emphasized he doesn't “know the club like the back of my hand” considering his latest experience at the club has been as an opposition boss, but he thinks he has a wider grasp of the place and demands. The house rules have been laid. I allowed the players wear white socks, for goodness sake,” the manager said. “I’ll have my former teammates caning me on messaging. But they’re forbidden to wear snoods or headgear … I had to make a compromise somewhere.”

The team have lost their past four fixtures and failed to secure a victory since the opening day. The coach mentioned the owner, Evangelos Marinakis, understood the significance of steadying things. Dyche encountered the Greek billionaire in the Europa League with Burnley, when his team lost in a qualifier against the Greek side in recent years. Following the initial match Dyche expressed anger at Olympiakos dignitaries, among them Marinakis, confronting the referees at the break in the stadium. “We had a bit of a giggle,” he said.

One aspect of his attraction is his image for building sides with solid bases, pertinent for a team without a shutout in many games. People categorize me, I’m not bothered,” he stated. “I’ve never tried to hide behind what’s effective. It’s no point of pride to me. Five years ago people were saying: ‘Why do you rely on set pieces?’ Now they’re in vogue. Tight trousers, wide-leg pants, slim fits, flared jeans … my daughter hammers me for any trousers I wear. It seems on social media even I got some criticism for my shoes walking into practice [on Tuesday] … couldn’t believe that. Tom Ford [trainers] but, regardless, don’t like to bring it up it.”

The manager is proud that his formative years were at Forest but thinks that should not mean he or his team are evaluated differently. “There’s no shortcut with the supporters, but we do care, that’s one thing I don’t think can ever be questioned,” he remarked. “All I dreamt of was wearing the shirt, but I never got to do it. Stoney and Woany succeeded, Billy did as a temporary keeper, Tony Loughlan featured and netted a strike. I was the only one who failed to and they keep reminding me of that.

“For me to have that connection of it is a significant matter for me personally. But it doesn't grant me a divine right, trust me. The fans expect me to succeed. If I’m not winning, the fans are going to criticize me because that’s the way supporters work and I’ve got no issue with that because it's the truth. I was at the club as a youth and didn't get to wear the kit, the emblem. Well, currently, I’m here with it wearing it.”