Exclusive – Collymore calls for former club to appoint ‘Nottingham Forest people’

Nottingham Forest legend Stan Collymore told talkSPORT the club should focus on appointing “Nottingham Forest men” following the dismissal of Billy Davies.

Davies, who returned for a second managerial stint with the Tricky Trees last February, was sacked as boss following a 5-0 defeat to east midlands rivals Derby County.

The club were thought to be in talks with Neil Warnock immediately after Davies’ exit, though the former Leeds chief later confirmed to talkSPORT he had turned down the job.

And with chairman Fawaz Al Hasawi now beginning the search for a new permanent boss, Collymore - whose prolific goalscoring in the 1990's led Forest to Premier League promotion and a third-place finish in the top flight the following season - believes former club heroes Martin O'Neill and Roy Keane would be perfect for the role, despite thier current position as Republic of Ireland coaches.

“I think the owner has to take a step back for a couple of days now, and I think Nottingham Forest need to employ Nottingham Forest people,” Collymore told Kick Off.

“When you create a feel-good factor around a football club with people who have been there and have an identity at the club, it provides all the building blocks for moving forward.

“Over the years they’ve had Ron Atkinson, Dave Bassett, Steven McClaren and they’ve had Alex McLeish - who I don’t think are Nottingham Forest men and are certainly not associated with any of the club’s success.

“The owner has the money, so I would pay the Irish FA and get Martin O'Neill in as manager with Roy Keane as his assistant.

“O'Neill is a proven at the top level and being Ireland manager is a part-time job, both men didn’t think they would get another managerial job at the time, so they took it.

“Now the Forest job has come up, both of them would get into an all-time Forest XI, both want to manage day-to-day with players and they’re not getting that at the moment.

“Forest need to appoint people who have a heart for the club, they’ve taken a million gambles with a million different managers since Brian Clough and Frank Clark and most of them haven’t worked.”

Listen to the full clip of Stan Collymore's thoughts on another turbulent week for Nottingham Forest above...