Sean Dyche is SACKED by Nottingham Forest as club starts hunt for staggering fourth manager in one season

"Nottingham Forest Football Club can confirm that Sean Dyche has been relieved of his duties as head coach," a statement said.

"We would like to thank Sean and his staff for their efforts during their time at the club and we wish them the best of luck for the future.

"We will be making no further comment at this time."

Mercurial Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis was reported to have personally debriefed his side in the changing rooms after full-time on Wednesday.

Players were held at the City Ground - with access in and out of the changing rooms guarded by first-team coaches.

Dyche was also inside as shipping magnate Marinakis made his feelings clear.

Marinakis was said to have grown frustrated with his side's inability to make the most of its attacking talent, as well as the inability to distance themselves the relegation zone.

A win on Wednesday would have seen them draw level with 16th-placed Tottenham on 16 points - who themselves sacked under-fire boss Thomas Frank that morning.

The 54-year-old former Everton and Burnley coach was handed the Forest job after Ange Postecoglou's own chaotic exit in October last year.

The ex-Spurs boss, a friend of Marinakis's, was shown the way out after two draws and six losses in eight games - but it took a mere three-match winless run for Dyche to join him on the managerial market.

The grisly run included tonight's draw against Wolves, another against Crystal Palace, and a 3-1 thumping at the hands of relegation rivals Leeds last Friday.

The post had been billed as a dream return for Dyche, who was in Forest's youth set-up in the 1980s when Brian Clough was at the helm.

He had been handed a reasonably short-term contract until 2027 - and was seen as a safe pair of hands to steady the ship after it floundered under Postecoglou and his predecessor Nuno Espirito Santo.

But despite overseeing a famous win over Porto in his first game in charge, as well as a gutsy 0-0 draw against league leaders Arsenal, Wednesday proved a bridge too far.

Forest now face a race against time to appoint a successor with a crunch six-game run looming.

In just seven days, the Reds will be heading to Turkey for a Europa League play-off against Fenerbahce - unbeaten in five, and on a three-match winning streak.

Three days later, they'll welcome Arne Slot's Liverpool to the City Ground before the return leg against the Turkish outfit on February 26.

After that, two Premier League away trips to Brighton and Manchester City await - before they host Fulham on March 14.