Roy Keane has issued a scathing critique of Nottingham Forest’s squad, labeling them as ‘fools’ for their indifferent response to the dismissal of Ange Postecoglou.

Postecoglou was relieved of his duties following an eight-match stretch without a win, culminating in a 3-0 defeat to Chelsea, just 20 minutes after the final whistle.

Forest’s owner, Evangelos Marinakis, has already turned to Sean Dyche as the third managerial appointment this season, after parting ways with the well-liked Nuno Espirito Santo.

In the latest episode of Stick to Football, Keane questioned the players’ commitment, saying, “When you look at Forest’s players and the opportunities they had, what chance was Postecoglou given? Did they genuinely aim to score?”

He continued by criticizing their lackluster performance, highlighting, “These are skilled players failing to even hit the target.

Roy Keane has branded Nottingham Forest’s players ‘idiots’ and claimed they had a careless attitude around Ange Postecoglou’s sacking

Postecoglou was shown the door on Saturday after a run of eight games without a win 

Owner Evangelos Marinakis cut a frustrated figure before storming out mid-way through the match and subsequently sacking Postecoglou

And yet, when the manager is sacked, they seem unfazed, as if to say, ‘Oh well, another manager out, a new one steps in.’ ”

‘Idiots, honestly.’ 

Gary Neville aimed his barbs at Marinakis, who stormed out of his seat during the match at the City Ground while Postecoglou suffered on the touchline. 

The fiery Greek shipping magnate is known for his cold approach to business. When he sacked Martin O’Neill in 2019 – a European Cup winner with Forest as a player – they announced Sabri Lamouchi as his replacement 18 minutes later. O’Neill recently recalled on talkSPORT that he was still in his office when the announcement was made.

Neville believes that Marinakis’ treatment of Postecoglou was classless. 

‘I’ve sacked four managers face-to-face in my time at Salford,’ he said. ‘Honestly, as a football club owner, it’s one of the worst things you can do.

‘You always think about the right time – obviously for the club, ultimately you’re doing it because the club isn’t happy and as owners you’re not happy – but you’re always thinking about how you deliver that news and where you deliver that news from the point of view of the manager.

‘And also giving him integrity. When you get sacked as a manager, you feel paranoid, you feel like the whole world is looking at you, you feelawful, you feel like you’ve let everyone down.

Survival specialist Sean Dyche has already been installed as Forest’s third boss this season

Gary Neville accused Marinakis of being classless in his approach to sacking Postecoglou

‘So you try and do it in as classy a way as possible, you try and do it a bit of time away from the game, you try and make sure he has the ability to speak to his staff and his players and has the time to build a statement. 

‘To do it 15, 20 minutes after a game, Jill [Scott] put it beautifully, to leave the stadium, and then do it 20 minutes after the match…’

Keane butted in to highlight how this shouldn’t surprise us one jot with Marinakis.    

‘You’re the mad one, not the owner!’ he said. ‘Why do you think this Forest owner is going to do it differently to what he’s always done? 

‘He’s done it with Martin O’Neill, he’s done it with other managers. Leopards and spots. Why did you think he was going to do it properly? Power, control, that’s how they work. 

‘So when the manager… out you go. You have to sack managers, but try and do it with a bit of class. And then players come out afterwards, “oh well, that’s football.” All that.  

‘You’ve got an owner who, sometimes it’s just what mood they wake up in in the morning. You’re on about the timing, do it in the international break. I don’t think these lads care. They just wake up and go, “it’s time to go, he’s gone today.”