Dyche and Mancini contenders after Forest sack Postecoglou

Ange Postecoglou failed to win any of his eight matches in charge of Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest head coach Ange Postecoglou was sacked just 17 minutes after the side's 3-0 defeat by Chelsea at the City Ground on Saturday.

The Australian's dismissal - 39 days after his appointment on 9 September - means Postecoglou's stint at Forest is the shortest permanent managerial reign in Premier League history.

Sources have told BBC Sport that Forest have made contact with ex-Everton boss Sean Dyche with a view to replacing Postecoglou, while former Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini is another possible candidate.

Postecoglou failed to win any of his eight matches in charge of Forest, with two draws and six defeats across all competitions.

Forest collected just one point from Postecoglou's five Premier League matches in charge, leaving the side one point above the relegation zone in 17th on his departure and in the bottom three following the day's later games.

"Nottingham Forest Football Club can confirm that after a series of disappointing results and performances, Ange Postecoglou has been relieved of his duties as head coach with immediate effect," a Forest statement read.

"The club will make no further comment at this time."

Postecoglou's staff, including Nick Montgomery, Mile Jedinak and Sergio Raimundo are also expected to leave.

Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis was at the City Ground to witness the defeat by Chelsea but was pictured leaving his seat around the 67th minute.

He did not deliver the news to Postecoglou, with a senior club official instead telling the 60-year-old - although that is not unusual.

Postecoglou then said goodbye to his players, leaving them with an apology it did not work and that he was not able to deliver what he was brought in to do.

Many fans headed for the exit when Reece James put Chelsea 3-0 up six minutes from time, and there were jeers from the home fans at the full-time whistle.

Who next for Forest?

Postecoglou's departure means Forest are searching for their third manager already this season, having sacked Nuno Espirito Santo just three matches into the campaign.

Forest have made early contact with former Everton manager Sean Dyche with a view to replacing Postecoglou, while ex-Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini is another contender.

Dyche has been out of work since being sacked by the Toffees in January, while Macini's last role was in charge of Saudi Arabia's national side.

Mancini has Premier League experience, having led City to the Premier League title in 2012.

While talks have been held with Dyche, sources indicate that an agreement is not a foregone conclusion.

There is also major internal support for Fulham manager Marco Silva, but he is understood to have a 'significant' release clause in his contract which provides an obstacle for Forest.

Importantly, Mancini and Dyche are out of work and available without the need to pay for their release.

Postecoglou's departure after 39 days in charge means he has broken Les Reed's record for the shortest reign - in terms of days in charge - of any permanent managerial appointment in Premier League history.

Reed spent 40 days in charge of Charlton Athletic in 2006 and was sacked having won just one of his eight matches in charge in all competitions.

Sam Allardyce, who managed 30 days in charge of Leeds United, was an interim appointment at Elland Road.

Former Crystal Palace boss Frank De Boer still holds the record for the fewest matches managed by a permanent appointment in the Premier League, having overseen four games in charge at Selhurst Park.

Postecoglou managed Forest five times in the Premier League.

The Australian was informed of his sacking after speaking to his players in the dressing room following the defeat against Enzo Maresca's side.

"Ange came in after the game, debriefed the game and then I went out to do some running, I came back and news had broke that he had gone," Forest defender Ryan Yates told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"Everybody has to take responsibility. I think it would be unfair to pin it on anybody. We have to look ourselves in the mirror and dust ourselves down and go again because things in football can change really quickly."

'Never seen anything like it' - analysis

BBC Radio 5 Live reporter Lee Blakeman was waiting in the tunnel at the Forest Ground for post-match interviews when the news emerged that Postecoglou had been sacked.

"I've never seen anything like it in my 15 years of covering football for the BBC," said Blakeman.

"I came down from the stands, made my way to the tunnel and as I arrived another broadcaster just mouthed to me 'he's been sacked'.

"A statement dropped at the same time on the club's social media channels.

"Down here it was just frantic activity. Ange Postecoglou was seen leaving the dressing room. The media team were on their phones.

"The players were led out of the dressing room to attend a meeting with representatives of the club's board.

"Media people were asking were we going to get anyone to speak to. There was just glum expressions of anybody wearing a Nottingham Forest badge."

'Marinakis must take responsibility'

Former England captain Alan Shearer believes Marinakis must take a share of the blame for Postecoglou's sacking.

"Ultimately the results haven't been good enough and that is on Ange. But the owner has to take some responsibility too. He chose Ange, it was his appointment," Shearer told BBC Sport.

"How can you go from a manager in Nuno with one style of play to someone like Ange who everyone knows wants his teams to play in a completely different way?"

Nuno guided Forest to seventh in the Premier League last season, having spent much of the campaign battling for a Champions League spot.

Forest had the joint-fourth best defence in the division, conceding 46 times in 38 matches.

Postecoglou's Tottenham, by contrast, scored 64 to Forest's 58, but conceded 65 times to finish with a -1 goal difference.

"It was inevitable but I don't think it's right," former Manchester City defender Micah Richards told BBC Sport.

"He was only given eight games and a contrast of styles was always going to be a factor.

"Forest went from one of the best counter-attacking managers to one who wanted to be more expansive - it was never going to work straight away.

"Postecoglou is a good manager but it's possible his media outbursts haven't helped. It looked like he could have been the right fit but more time was needed.

"The interesting thing now is - will the next manager be short term or long term? What are Forest trying to be - was last season a one-off?

"I know Tottenham finished fifth in Ange's first season but if you're going off Ange's record last season, he should never have been appointed by Forest."

Postecoglou's torrid reign

When Postecoglou arrived at the City Ground, Forest were 10th in the Premier League and on the cusp of playing in Europe for the first time in three decades.

Marinakis said Posetcoglou's experience at the "highest level" along with "his desire to build something special" made him a perfect fit for the club.

But it was far from a perfect start for Postecoglou, as Forest were beaten 3-0 away at Arsenal in his opening match.

A poor start was cemented when Forest were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Swansea City, when they threw away a 2-0 lead in Wales.

Draws with Burnley in the Premier League and Real Betis in the Europa League did little to quieten a growing discontent.

The bubbling anger spilled over after a 3-2 defeat at home to Midtjylland in the Europa League, when a section of Forest supporters chanted "you're getting sacked in the morning" towards the former Celtic boss.

Postecoglou was defiant after a 2-0 defeat by Newcastle before the international break, saying: "I love a fight" in the face of questions about his job.

But a 3-0 defeat by Chelsea at home proved a defeat too far for Postecoglou, who has now been sacked twice in the last five months by Premier League clubs.