HAS HIS TIME IN THE SUN GONE?

NOTTINGHAM Forest came close to appointing Martin O’Neill as their manager in 1999, when he was manager of Premier League Leicester and Forest were in the division below. It shows the emotional pull of his old club that he almost said yes. As a player he won two European Cups and a Division One title for Brian Clough’s Forest. Now, at 66, he has the chance to leave another mark on this storied club. But the story today is different — 20 years ago Forest would have been getting one of the brightest managerial talents of his generation. Back then, O’Neill was an irresistible force, dragging Leicester to promotions, cup success and into Europe on the back of a quirky brand of energetic motivation. Courted by Celtic, Leeds and fancied to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United one day, that was O’Neill’s time in the sun. Despite subsequent success at Celtic, his flame never burned quite so brightly again and it remains to be seen what he can bring to Forest. It is almost six years since he was sacked by Sunderland and his subsequent spell as manager of the Republic of Ireland flatlined by the end. Recently, he spoke to The Times about his desire to work again. O’Neill’s love for his craft and for the game is clear and his appetite for a challenge undimmed. But he sounded like a man desperate to prove something to himself. This is a big appointment for Forest. They have chosen O’Neill ahead of candidates such as Slavisa Jokanovic, who took Watford and Fulham to the Premier League and would have been fancied to do it again with Forest. But O’Neill is the romantic’s choice and there is something appealing about that. He has said that he constantly felt the need to prove himself to Clough. Now that process is about to start again, only this time with a wider audience.