Report: Forest set to play the waiting game before offering key man new deal at the City Ground

One thing at a time.

That appears to be the method that the Nottingham Forest board are taking regarding one key figure at the City Ground, and that’s head coach Sabri Lamouchi.

Lamouchi is entering the final few months of his one-year-contract from when he was appointed in the summer, but according to one reporter, the club aren’t in a rush to make him settle down longer.

I asked Paul Taylor from The Athletic during a Q&A about the state of Lamouchi’s contract, and he explained to me that although the Forest boss did enough to keep the board on his side, they aren’t quite in a position to put the pen and paper in front of him just yet:

“Without being overly dramatic, while Lamouchi’s position feels rock solid again now, following some decent results at the end of December and early this year, it was not quite so safe following the drubbing from Sheffield Wednesday. Things can change massively quickly in football – and they have done at Forest. But I’d expect this to be something the club are likely to address after the window, rather than during it.”

I’ve spoken before about Lamouchi’s contract, back when he was being circled by Premier League clubs, and whilst those rumours appear to have died down in recent weeks, the point remains the same. Whilst Taylor points out that the club is waiting until after the window to sort out his contract, could you not make the argument we should have had this all sorted before this whole window started?

It’s just a way of increasing the stability around the club.

That way any targets will know that this is very much a long-term project rather than facing the prospect of having to change philosophies, tactics and regime in six months’ time, just like the club did with Martin O’Neill.

So hopefully once the January transfer window is over, contract talks will begin, because even if he doesn’t take Forest up this year, the start he has made to his time at the club more than proves that he deserves another crack at the whip next campaign.