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The badge is bigger than any manager,” the new Forest boss declared at his introduction as the club's head coach, sporting a training kit with his monogram. He then, corrected himself. “Well, there was a single manager who was likely as important as the crest – everyone recognizes who that was.”} Following that, an impression of Brian Clough, an attempt at that distinctive drawl. Lad, well done,’” he recalled, reminiscing about his three years as a trainee at the club's stadium, the period he spent wandering down the river, with Clough’s labrador, dashing past him and his manager’s voice invariably within hearing range.

The coach tells a story of how, as a youth player, he and a few others tended the manager's garden at his residence in Quarndon. Our weekly wage was minimal and he gave you a tenner to do his lawn. So we actually thought: ‘This is pretty good.’ He’d cook for you and make sure you were well looked after. It was quite fun, not too much yard work.”

For Dyche, this moment has been a long time in the making. He lives in the area and has a fondness for the club. In recent years, he and his long-term coach his deputy, who was a member of the Forest side the previous occasion they were in European competition, in the mid-90s, have sometimes visited the West Bridgford coffee shop where club icons such as Frank Clark, another stalwart and Garry Birtles gather every Thursday to discuss old and new tales. He will have to give it a miss this time to get ready for the arrival of Porto, undefeated this season, in the Europa League on Thursday evening.

“I’m looking forward to seeing the club legends,” said Dyche, who succeeded Ange Postecoglou to become Forest’s latest head coach of the term. I'll get an earful if I don’t do too well, so I better win some games for them. Those guys are important to me. A lot of Forest fans appreciate the history of this institution. I have personal ties and now I’ve got a chance to reinvent my own history, I suppose, as coach.”

Dyche took Forest training for the initial session on Tuesday, a short while after Postecoglou watched a 3‑0 home loss by Chelsea that placed the side in the top division relegation zone. the club captain, who came as a child, acknowledged these are just the start but he and his team have alleviated some of the gloom.

His staff includes one more Forest hero in a former player, as well as Billy Mercer and another staff member, both of whom featured for the team. In my view a huge asset of this organization is getting the connection between the fans, squad and coach and, frankly, the recent period we lacked a good feeling around here,” the captain said. “The new manager and his assistants have introduced that sense of life and enthusiasm.”

He emphasized he doesn't “know the club like the inside out” given his latest experience at Forest has been as an opposition boss, but he believes he has a wider grasp of the place and demands. The guidelines have been laid. “I’ve let them wear light-colored footwear, for heaven's sake,” the manager said. I expect my former teammates criticizing me on WhatsApp. But they’re forbidden to wear snoods or headgear … I had to make a compromise somewhere.”

Forest have lost their last four matches and not won since the start of the season. The coach said the proprietor, Evangelos Marinakis, understood the significance of steadying things. He encountered the Greek billionaire in the Europa League with his former club, when his team lost in a playoff against the Greek side in 2018. After the first leg Dyche expressed anger at club officials, among them Marinakis, approaching the referees at half-time in Piraeus. We laughed about it,” Dyche said.

Part of his appeal is his image for building teams with strong bases, pertinent for a team without a clean sheet in 20 matches. “I’ve been put in many boxes, I’m not concerned,” he stated. “I’ve never tried to hide behind what’s effective. It’s no point of pride to me. Five years ago people were saying: ‘Why do you depend on set pieces?’ Now they’re popular. Skinny jeans, wide-leg pants, skinny jeans, flared jeans … my daughter criticizes me for any jeans I wear. It seems on social media even I got some criticism for my shoes walking into practice [on Tuesday] … was surprised by that. A brand [trainers] but, regardless, don’t like to bring it up it.”

The manager is pleased that his early career were at the club but believes that should not mean he or his staff are evaluated differently. “There’s no shortcut with the fans, but we are committed, that’s one thing I don’t think can ever be questioned,” he said. My only aspiration was putting on the shirt, but I never got to achieve it. Stoney and Woany succeeded, Billy Mercer did as a loan keeper, Tony Loughlan wore it and netted a goal. I was the only one who didn’t and they keep reminding me of that.

“In my case to have that part of it is a significant matter for me personally. But it doesn’t give me a special privilege, trust me. The fans want me to win. If I’m failing, the crowd are going to criticize me because that’s the way supporters behave and I’ve got no issue with that because that’s the reality. I was at the club as a kid and never wore the kit, the badge. Now, now, I’m sitting with it wearing it.”