Sabri Lamouchi says it was ‘an honour’ to manage Nottingham Forest

Sabri Lamouchi
(Image credit: Mike Egerton)

Former Nottingham Forest boss Sabri Lamouchi has thanked the club and their fans for “the magic moments” following his dismissal.

Forest have appointed Chris Hughton as a replacement for Lamouchi, who was sacked on Tuesday after his side began the Sky Bet Championship season with four straight defeats.

“It was my dream to work in English football as a manager and the opportunity to do that at a great club in Nottingham Forest was an honour,” Lamouchi said in a statement released by the League Managers Association.

“The city welcomed me from day one and I will never forget the magic moments we all shared together at the City Ground and across the country.”

Forest appeared on course for a play-off finish last season before taking only two points from their last six matches in the run-in.

They were pipped to sixth place on the final day when a 4-1 home defeat to Stoke and Swansea’s 4-1 win at Readings saw them finish seventh on goal difference.

“Thank you to the players, staff and board for everything they did in support of me and the project,” the 48-year-old Frenchman added.

“Our dream was to take Nottingham Forest back to the Premier League, where this historic club deserves to be, and to make Forest great again.

“From the first day to the last, we gave our lives to this project, and together we came so close to achieving our dream.

“To the fans, it was an honour to work for your great club. We lived a season that I will never forget.”

Lamouchi spent just 15 months in charge at Forest despite signing a new undisclosed contract in June.