Warburton yearns for stability at Forest
THE proposed takeover of Nottingham Forest by Evangelos Marinakis will not be affected in the event of relegation, and manager Mark Warburton has stressed the need for stability at the club after years of turmoil.
Greek businessman Marinakis is in the final stages of buying Forest from Fawaz Al-Hasawi, and, subject to expected ratification from the Football League, will proceed to completion whatever division the club are in after today.
There have been doubts about whether Marinakis would follow through on his commitment if Forest plunged into League One, but those have be allayed.
Warburton, who parted company with Rangers in February, would welcome the planned structural improvement behind the scenes.
‘The uncertainty and instability has affected things here, there is no hiding that,’ he said.
‘I do feel for the players, there has been a negative impact from the different managers, tweaks in formation and changes in the squad. Football is not an exclusive industry, uncertainty can have a damaging effect.
‘The players aren’t fools, they know what is at stake and the significance of it. I’m not thinking about what relegation will mean.’
Marinakis, who also owns Olympiakos, is expected to pass regulators’ fit and proper person’s test despite standing accused of match-fixing back in Greece and has put together a blueprint for rebuilding a club that has disintegrated under AlHasawi’s five-year reign.
A proposed takeover by American John Jay Moores rumbled on for months this season.
Forest are only clear of the relegation zone thanks to a goal difference of one better than Blackburn Rovers. They play Ipswich Town at the City Ground today as they seek to avoid plying their trade in England’s third tier for the first time since 2008.