Dyche replaced Ange Postecoglou at Nottingham Forest a month ago, and they already look like a completely different side to the one that lost six and drew two of their games across all competitions under the Australian.
Forest’s 3-0 win over Liverpool at Anfield took them out of the relegation zone, unbeaten in their last three Premier League games and for the first time this season, they can start to look up rather than be constantly watching their back.
So, how has everyone’s favourite gruff voiced manager turning things around at the City Ground?
Getting the basics right
It’s a bit of a cliché with Dyche, but sometimes, especially after following a manager like Postecoglou who is so set in their ways, players need to just reset and make sure they’re going the basics well before moving onto more complicated things.
At Forest, Dyche came in and told his players that they need to get fitter. “We’ve been running, running, running. When the manager came in, he made it clear that the season starts now. He’s been putting us to work, but we needed it to compete at the highest level,” says Morgan Gibbs-White in an interview with the BBC.
“The manager said that we needed to get fitter and, as players, we knew that we needed to,” says Neco Williams in an interview with journalists. “Training has been really tough; there has been a lot of running — but it is only going to benefit us. You have to be fit to play the way the manager wants.”
Dyche has a similar style to Nuno Espirito Santo, they’re both more than willing to give up possession and emphasise the importance of playing without the ball, which is something he very clearly focussed on in the win over Liverpool.
How Nottingham Forest beat Liverpool
Expecting to have little possession at Anfield, he instructed his players not to play out from the back but to go long, avoiding Liverpool’s aggressive press. Dyche was adamant that Forest have players who can play good football, but adapting to the situation offered the best chance of success.
In typical Dyche fashion, Forest executed a disciplined, hard-working game plan: defend solidly, win second balls, and counterattack at speed.
Igor Jesus set the tone by pressing and competing physically, while players like Gibbs-White and Dan Ndoye helped turn defensive clearances into quick attacking transitions. This approach led to the corner from which Murillo scored the opener, despite Liverpool’s protests.
Forest continued to absorb pressure, Liverpool had a massive 75% possession, but Dyche’s side increasingly grew in control after taking the lead. They were happy to rely on blocks, clearances, and committed defending to protect their clean sheet, ending a run of 19 games without one.
Their second and third goals came from incisive transitions: Williams set up Savona after a driving run, and substitute Omari Hutchinson created the third with skill before Gibbs-White finished thanks to a bit of luck after Alisson’s parry.
Ultimately, Forest’s return to a familiar, hard-working, counter-attacking style appears to have restored confidence in both players and fans.
Morgan Gibbs-White is back
The England international had a weird summer. First, he looked set to leave and join Tottenham before Evangelos Marinakis managed to convince him to stay, with the club releasing a weird hostage video to announce his new deal.
Marinakis then went on to sack Espirito Santo, who Gibbs-White is said to have had a fantastic relationship with and replace him with a manager that was never going to get the best out of him.
Now, under Dyche, Gibbs-White is getting back to his best, and his hopes of a place at next year’s World Cup are well and truly alive despite not featuring in Thomas Tuchel’s most recent England squad.
Since Dyche came in, Gibbs-White has rediscovered the form that made Spurs want to spend £60 million on him, scoring four goals in his last six games across all competitions, including the first of Dyche’s tenure.
Verdict
It’s going to take one hell of come back for Forest to qualify for Europe again, but Dyche has come in and steadied the ship in a way that few managers would have been able to. The win over Liverpool was a tactical masterclass, and Forest will shock some other big teams this season.