Former Nottingham Forest sporting director Filippo Giraldi has spoken about the club’s decision to sack him.
The 49-year-old admits to harbouring a number of mixed emotions after the Reds dispensed with his services, saying he’s “angry” and unable to understand why the decision was made.
Giraldi was fired following the 2-0 defeat at Aston Villa in April, the result coming a few days after losing to relegation rivals Leeds and saw Steve Cooper’s men drop back into the relegation zone for the first time since January.
Speaking to The Athletic, the Italian said: “Of course I’m angry, of course I would have liked to have finished the season and I don’t understand why.
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“I accept it though and I’m thankful. I’m not a person who has a bad feeling. I’ve been given a great opportunity. I played my part and did my best, that’s for sure. It still hurt me and I still don’t understand, but it’s life.”
He added: “I should be more angry with (the club’s ownership) because it feels undeserved about how it finished, but I’ve loved them because they love the club and they are extremely generous in the way they make themselves available for the club.”
Giraldi says of Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis and his son Miltiadis: “From a working point of view, it has been fantastic. No interference at all.”
Things came to a head in April when leaks suggested manager Steve Cooper was on the verge of being sacked.
“It came out that if we lose (against Leeds) that Patrick Vieira would become our coach,” says Giraldi, who feels he probably carried the can for the downturn in results.
“I phoned the owner because also with the previous game something similar came out. I said to him we can’t have that coming out all the time before the games because it’s the wrong message to the players and to everyone. We are in this together and we have to stick together.”
Between the Leeds and Villa games, Marinakis released a statement backing Cooper but said "results and performances must improve immediately.”
“I was extremely happy that the owner put out that statement because it was the right way to defend your club and your people, and I think it was a brilliant move,” says Giraldi.
“I didn’t believe at that point that there was anyone better than what we already had. I said that to Steve as well so he’s aware. We’re still friends outside of the pitch — we talk and text — but if I thought at that time the right decision was to change him, I would have changed him or fought for him to be changed.”
However, Forest’s defeat at Villa Park – the team’s sixth in nine games – the immediate upturn that the statement demanded had not arrived. “At that time, he (the owner) had to make some change because he wanted to change something,” said Giraldi.
“I know it’s difficult to listen to that, but I prefer it to be me than to be the coaching staff because, in that moment, I was far less important than the coaching staff.”
What did you make of the decision to part company with Giraldi? Let us know in the comments section.
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