Nottingham Forest have withdrawn manager Steve Cooper’s offer of a new contract and numerous jobs have been put in jeopardy at the crisis club.
Forest went bottom of the Premier League after losing 4-0 at Midlands rivals and fellow strugglers Leicester on Monday.
Their fifth defeat in a row leaves Cooper’s future at the City Ground under major scrutiny, with Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis starting the process of identifying the former Swansea manager’s successor.
Rafa Benitez, the former Liverpool, Chelsea, Newcastle and Everton manager, is among the options for Forest should they pull the trigger.