John Terry has distanced himself from the report linking him with the Nottingham Forest job, claiming via Instagram it is nothing to do with him and is unfair to current Reds boss Chris Hughton. 

Hughton's side have started the season poorly and currently sit bottom of the Championship, with just a point from their first six games.

Pressure has built on the experienced coach and after the 2-1 defeat to Cardiff City on Sunday, bad results against Middlesbrough tomorrow and Huddersfield Town on Saturday could see the East Midlands club decide action is necessary – and the current ownership certainly have a track record for sacking managers.

The Sun (12/09, p64) reported over the weekend that Terry was interested in taking charge at the City Ground should the job become available soon, with Chris Wilder is thought to feel the same.

The former England captain left his role as a coach at Aston Villa ahead of the 2021/22 campaign to pursue a step into management but he's taken action amid links to the Forest job to make his stance clear.

Terry posted a message on his Instagram story earlier today to distance himself from the job.

The Verdict

While Terry has clearly distanced himself from the Forest job and suggested that the information feeding the recent reports have not come from him, he's not ruled himself out of the running completely should Hughton be sacked.

The former Chelsea captain deserves credit for taking action to try and quiet down the speculation about Hughton's job and it will be interesting if we see Wilder do the same given he was named in the same report.

Significant pressure is building on the Forest boss now though and you feel losses against both Boro and Huddersfield could spell the end of his City Ground tenure.

Where the Reds would look next is unclear but in Terry and Wilder they have two options at different ends of the spectrum.

The first lacks in experience but could be a risk that pays off while the latter is a known quantity.