Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has reignited his dispute with Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis following the rapid dismissal of Ange Postecoglou.
The pundit criticised the timing of the Australian manager's departure, which occurred mere minutes after Forest's 3-0 loss to Chelsea.
Speaking on the Overlap's Stick to Football podcast, Neville endorsed co-presenter Jill Scott's assessment that the dismissal lacked dignity. Scott had stated: "You don't have to be a d*** about it."
Neville concurred with her evaluation, suggesting the Greek shipping tycoon's approach to terminating Postecoglou's tenure demonstrated a lack of professionalism in handling managerial changes.
Gary Neville reignited his war of words with Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis
| SKYDrawing from his experience at Salford, where he has dismissed four managers personally, Neville outlined the appropriate approach to terminating a manager's contract.
He emphasised that whilst such decisions ultimately serve the club's interests, consideration must be given to the individual's dignity and emotional state.
"When you get sacked as a manager, you feel paranoid, you feel like the whole world is looking at you, you feel awful, you feel like you've let everyone down," Neville explained.
The pundit advocated for allowing managers sufficient time to communicate with their staff and players whilst preparing public statements.
Gary Neville had criticised Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis at times last season | GETTYHe suggested Forest should have delayed their announcement by at least five hours following the match conclusion.
The controversy echoes Neville's previous confrontation with Marinakis, when he characterised the club's conduct as resembling "a mafia gang" whilst criticising their treatment of former manager Nuno Espírito Santo.
Sky Sports subsequently issued an apology for these remarks after Marinakis's legal representatives contacted the broadcaster, claiming the comments were "inappropriate, didn't correspond with reality and harmed people."
Following the incident, Neville was prohibited from attending the City Ground whilst working as a broadcaster late last season.
Despite Sky's apology and his agreement to avoid similar terminology in future broadcasts, Neville maintained his stance on the podcast, describing Marinakis's pitch-side behaviour last season as "absolutely out of order."
Roy Keane, who served on Martin O'Neill's coaching team during their 2019 dismissal, offered a contrasting perspective by attributing responsibility to Forest's squad.
Gary Neville was furious with the decision to sack Ange Postecoglou
|GETTY
"You look at the Forest players and the chances they had. What chance has he [Postecoglou] got? Did they really want to score?" Keane questioned on the podcast.
The former midfielder suggested players showed indifference towards managerial changes, describing them as "idiots" for their apparent lack of accountability.
LATEST SPORT NEWS:
Ange Postecoglou was axed less then 20 minutes after the 3-0 loss to Chelsea | REUTERSKeane reminded Neville that Marinakis's behaviour follows an established pattern, noting that when O'Neill departed in 2019, Sabri Lamouchi's appointment was announced just 18 minutes later.
"Leopards and spots. Why did you think he was going to do it properly? Power, control, that's how they work," Keane concluded.