Dougie Freedman replaces Stuart Pearce at Nottingham Forest

Dougie Freedman and Stuart Pearce are both former Forest players

Dougie Freedman has been appointed Nottingham Forest manager after the club sacked Stuart Pearce.

Pearce, who took over last summer, was dismissed on Sunday, with Freedman, 40, named as his successor soon afterwards.

Forest began the season well but Pearce, 52, has paid for a run of six defeats in seven, though he has been offered an advisory role at the club.

Freedman, a former Forest player, has managed in the Championship with Crystal Palace and Bolton Wanderers.

Forest owner Fawaz Al Hasawi said dismissing Pearce, who spent 12 years at the club as a player and had a spell as caretaker-manager in 1997, had been his "hardest footballing decision".

In a statement, he added: "Unfortunately, recent results convinced me it was best to pursue alternative managerial options. I hope our supporters understand my decision.

"Stuart is someone I have always admired and that will never change. For that reason I have offered him an advisory role at the club, which I sincerely hope he accepts so we can all move forward together."

Pearce is understood to be considering the offer.

Saturday's 1-0 home defeat by Millwall left Forest 12th in the table and the club said Pearce had been relieved of his role after "long discussions" with Al Hasawi.

The pressure had been growing on Pearce after Forest slipped from the top of the Championship to mid-table with a run of three wins in 23 matches.

A 2-0 home defeat by Sheffield Wednesday last month prompted Pearce to describe Forest's slump as the "hardest period of my management and coaching career".

Pearce's management style was recently criticised by former England defender Danny Mills, who worked under him for a short time at Manchester City.

"After 10 games people work him out," said Mills. "He gets teams going but after a while, players aren't stupid, they're not naive and they start to suss him out. He doesn't have the depth of football ability to back it up."

Freedman enjoyed a promising start to his managerial career, taking over at Crystal Palace in January 2011 and guiding the struggling club to Championship safety.

In 2012 the Scot opted to join another side in that division, Bolton. He steered them clear of a relegation battle and narrowly missed out on qualifying for the play-offs.

He left the club in 2014 by mutual consent after a run of one win in the first 10 league games of the season.

Forest said they will announce further details of Freedman's role at the City Ground "in due course" and he is expected to be presented at a news conference on Tuesday.

Listen again to BBC Radio Nottingham's Matchtalk special on Pearce's departure.

Stuart Pearce led Forest to an away victory over rivals Derby County on 17 January