Sabri Lamouchi made an offer to French manager Alain Pochat to join his backroom staff at Nottingham Forest according to reports.
The 52-year-old is currently managing the third division side FC Villefranche in France and has spent all of his coaching career in his homeland.
He revealed why he turned down the advances of our boss and the Reds, opting to stay in the charge of the Championnat National outfit.
In the summer, Lamouchi took over from Martin O’Neill, who was sacked following a disappointing end to the 2018/19 season. The Frenchman brought in Bruno Baltazar, David Barriac and Jean-Paul Ancian to his coaching setup, with the chance of adding Pochat to that as well.
Speaking to Made in Foot, he decided to decline Forest because of time restraints and the preferences of his family.
Would Pochat have benefited our backroom staff?
Yes
No
“The timing was problematic,” he said. “I’d had contacts for a while, with Sabri Lamouchi and the person I know very well in his staff. I looked at it, but it was really late. I’d already started my season here, at FC Villefranche.
“I’d already done all the recruiting. They called me on a Thursday, and they needed me to go to Alicante on the Saturday for preseason. There was also my family to manage. There’s no French school there.
“There were many parameters that were really tight timing-wise…I didn’t really see myself leaving the club, the players I’d convinced to come.
He added that the prospect of moving to Forest was attractive and recognised that we were a historical club that has won two European Cups.
Pochat is into his third managerial tenure after taking charge of French sides Bayonne and US Boulogne. As not much is known about him, it is a mystery as to how he would have done in our backroom team and what role he could have taken on. Due to the fact that his contract with his club expires in the summer, there is a chance that Lamouchi could go back in for him in the summer though.
