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Opinion: Why Martin O’Neill’s future at Nottingham Forest is at risk

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Martin O’Neill recently spoke to Evangelos Marinakis about his vision on Nottingham Forest’s future. Returning to the Premier League is paramount and a redeveloping the stadium has been planned, so O’Neill has to deliver on promotion in 2019/20. The 67-year-old’s future at the City Ground could depend on success, and it’s telling that his contract will be up at the end of next season.

Aitor Karanka recently spoke out about his departure from Forest, revealing that the initial plan upon his appointment was to set the foundations in his first year and push for promotion in seasons two and three. He left midway through his second year, and history could repeat itself with his successor. Karanka, like O’Neill, joined midway through the season but signed a two-and-a-half year deal. O’Neill was only given an 18-month contract.

Forest spent the first-half of the 2018/19 campaign in and around the playoffs, but Karanka still didn’t feel he had job security so he left the club. O’Neill has fared considerably worse in his first five months in charge and should be fearful that he won’t have a long stay at the City Ground. His contract is up next year, but it’s hard to see Forest extending his deal until clear signs of progress are made.

With Marinakis desperate for promotion, it’s unlikely he would support a manager that fails to deliver his vision within the timeframe set out. O’Neill only has 12 months to get Forest back into the top-flight otherwise he could be on his way out.

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Sports journalist who is an avid football fan, enjoys debunking transfer rumours, loves to write pieces about players out in the cold and takes a large amount of pride getting a predicted XI 100% correct.