Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness believes Evangelos Marinakis will be expecting Nottingham Forest to finish closer to the mid-table places next season.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, the 66-year-old – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – insisted Nuno Espirito Santo’s future will likely come into question if they find themselves in another relegation battle.
The Portuguese boss led Forest to safety last season after replacing Steve Cooper as the club’s manager last December.
Although they only finished one place above the relegation zone, the club were handed a four-point deduction after being charged with a spending breach.
Nottingham Forest chief likely expecting mid-table finish
Wyness believes Marinakis will be hoping Forest can push up the table away from any potential danger next season, having found themselves in a relegation battle during both of their campaigns back in the Premier League.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “What I think Marinakis will demand of Nuno is a season without relegation fears.
“Establish themselves from 10th to 15th, remain there all season and have no worries about relegation. That would be what I’m sure Marinakis has in his mind for this year.
“They would then start the whole busy cycle of trying to establish themselves in the Premier League.
“That’s what he wants provided there is no more points deductions for them. They were almost doing that last season. That’s what he would expect at least.
“If they get lucky and push towards 10th, that would be great.
“Then I think Forest would start feeling that they are getting the hang of this and Marinakis would be happy seeing a more stable asset.
“That’s what I think his target is.
“If Nuno doesn’t achieve that and there is another relegation-battling season for whatever reason, then I think he’ll be thinking Marinakis is not shy of pushing the button.”
