Former Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson is the bookie’s favourite to take over at Nottingham Forest following the controversial sacking of Dougie Freedman on Sunday.
Pearson, 52, has been installed at 4/1 with SkyBet with Billy Davies at 6/1 for a third spell at the club.
But Forest have said they will not rush into a decision as Fawaz Al-Hasawi looks for the seventh full-time manager of his tenure as owner.
It has been reported that the Reds may look at adopting a European approach to football management with Al-Hasawi looking at someone to perform a ‘head coach’ role.
Former Chelsea player Dan Petrescu was approached for a similar role following the sacking of Stuart Pearce last year but he is unlikely to join the Reds after signing a lucrative deal with Jiangsu Suning in China.
Early running: Who are the favourites for the Forest job?
Nigel Pearson 4/1
Billy Davies 6/1
David Moyes 10/1
Aitor Karanka 10/1
Garry Monk 12/1
Nigel Clough 14/1
Tim Sherwood 16/1
Brendan Rodgers 33/1
Fans using social media are divided over whether Freedman should have been sacked in the first place.
Marc ‘Milko’ Course told Notts TV on facebook: “Ridiculous decision and Freedman should of stayed. But people who say Fawaz out are moronic. If it wasn’t for him we may not have had a club. We have an owner who is passionate about the club. which is more than can be said about some.”
https://twitter.com/JoeJani1/status/709285120767868928
Image: NFFC fan on Twitter is glad Dougie is out of the picture at City Ground
Former England cricketer Michael Vaughan labelled the sacking ‘a disgrace’ and took to Twitter to show support for the work Freedman did at Forest.
Disgraceful decision … The work he has done with the budget and transfer embargo has been remarkable .. https://t.co/BnHCZHbqmd
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) March 13, 2016
Image: Michael Vaughan labels Dougie sacking ‘disgraceful’
Forest have appointed first team coach Paul Williams as manager until a full appointment is made and will face a testing week, with a trip to third-place Hull City on Tuesday night followed by a local grudge match with Derby County at the weekend.
Man in the interim: Who is Paul Williams?
This is Williams’ first job in professional management. The 44-year-old was brought to the club from Brentford just before Christmas, where he acted as assistant to Lee Carsley.
He has also had coaching roles at Wolves, Aldershot Town and Southampton.
Williams also performed a head coach role at USL Premier Development League expansion club Fredericksburg Gunners in America back in 2006.
