Nottingham Forest made the surprising decision to replace manager Martin O’Neill with Sabri Lamouchi on Friday, meaning the former player didn’t even last six months at the City Ground.

Having succeeded Aitor Karanka earlier in the year, the Northern Irishman was initially tasked with getting the Reds into the top six but they ended up in mid-table.

Despite that, O’Neill was expected to get a full transfer window and pre-season to build his own squad ahead of the new campaign.

However, reports suggested several key players weren’t happy with his methods and complained to those high up at the club about the ex-Celtic boss’ approach.

That prompted the owner to make the big decision and he has turned to Lamouchi to take over.

And, here we look at THREE players who will be delighted that the former Rennes boss is in charge ahead of the new campaign…

Claudio Yacob

The former West Brom midfielder made just two starts under O’Neill and one of those was his first game back in January.

For whatever reason, the tough-tackling Argentinian wasn’t a favourite under the former boss, although in fairness to O’Neill he did have a lot of options in the middle of the park.

But, Yacob is a proven player at this level and he will feel he has a lot to offer and will hope to show that under Lamouchi.

Adlene Guedioura

Another who struggled for game time was Guedioura.

On his day, the 33-year-old can be a complete midfielder in the Championship as he has so much quality and can really drive the team forward.

So, he could be a player that the new boss looks to build around and if the Algerian international can rediscover his best form he could be a vital member of the squad next season.

Karim Ansarifard

The Iran international arrived at the City Ground with a decent reputation but he failed to get much of a look-in last season.

Two goals in 12 games is not what the striker would’ve envisaged after he moved from Olympiacos and he has been linked with a move away this summer.

Yet, he clearly has ability and Lamouchi could get the best out of the player.