Good old Sean Dyche - white socks yes, snoods and hats no

Nottingham Forest have embarked on a fresh chapter under Sean Dyche, with the newly-appointed manager already putting some of his own rules into practice — while relaxing one longstanding principle he enforced at previous clubs.

Dyche took over as Forest’s manager on Tuesday, signing a contract that will run until the summer of 2027.

The 54-year-old is the third manager to take the helm at the City Ground this season, following the departures of Nuno Espirito Santo last month and Ange Postecoglou on Saturday.

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Amid all the turmoil so far this season, Dyche is aiming to bring structure back to the squad by introducing certain regulations. Yet the former Burnley and Everton boss has made an exception to one of his old rules, permitting players to wear white socks during training.

“It’s still early, but I’d like to think they’re doing their homework, that they know enough people in the game and are checking in,” Dyche told The Times when reflecting on his first sessions with the team. “I’ve let them wear white socks — for goodness’ sake, I’ve never let anyone wear white socks. My former players will probably be hammering me on WhatsApp, saying, ‘Gaffer, they’ve got white socks on.’ That’s fair, isn’t it? But they’re still not allowed to wear snoods or hats — I had to make a compromise somewhere. You know what I mean?”

This relaxation on sock color marks a change from his time at Everton. Speaking about his previous policy during his unveiling at the Toffees in February 2023, he explained: “This has been going around for years and it drives me mad. Unless I’ve been out of the game too long, you’re not allowed to wear hats or snoods on a Saturday, and by the rules, you have to wear shin pads. It’s not rocket science.”

While the ban on snoods and hats at training remains, Dyche is hoping these small, light-hearted adjustments will help the squad ahead of their Europa League home game against Porto on Thursday.

That match will be Dyche’s first in charge of his new club, and he has stressed that owner Evangelos Marinakis understands the challenges ahead — with the focus squarely on stabilizing the club before chasing European glory.

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 3

Thursday

19.45: (1.90) Braga (3.50) Crvena Zvezda (4.10)

19.45: (2.25) Brann (3.45) Rangers (3.15)

19.45: (5.50) FCSB (3.70) Bologna (1.67)

19.45: (2.30) Fenerbahce (3.50) Stuttgart (3.00)

19.45: (1.63) Feyenoord (4.10) Panathinaikos (5.25)

19.45: (3.10) Genk (3.40) Betis (2.30)

19.45: (6.50) Go Ahead (4.30) Aston Villa (1.50)

19.45: (1.63) Olympique Lyon (3.90) Basel (5.50)

19.45: (1.98) Salzburg (3.50) Ferencvaros (3.80)

22.00: (2.00) Celta (3.50) Nice (3.80)

22.00: (1.55) Celtic (4.10) Sturm (6.00)

22.00: (1.57) Freiburg (4.00) Utrecht (6.00)

22.00: (1.62) Lille (3.80) PAOK (5.80)

22.00: (3.20) Maccabi T.A. (3.40) Midtjylland (2.25)

22.00: (3.15) Malmo (3.35) Dinamo Zagreb (2.30)

22.00: (2.50) Nott.Forest (3.35) Porto (2.85)

22.00: (1.38) Roma (4.80) Plzen (8.50)

22.00: (1.80) Young Boys (3.60) Ludogorets (4.60)

***odds are subject to change***