Ola Aina: 2 reasons Glasner may force defender out at Nottingham Forest

Super Eagles defender Ola Aina could be one of the first casualties of Oliver Glasner’s promised shake-up at Nottingham Forest.

The Austrian tactician delivered a blunt message after Forest’s 2-0 defeat to Brentford yesterday, their fourth loss in five league games, with the Reds claiming just one victory all season.

“If you lose four of the last five games, it’s not good enough. For me, it’s now time that we change things, that I change things and that’s what I’m going to do,” the 52-year-old said in his post-match presser.

He did not name any player, and his warning applied to the whole squad, but Aina’s afternoon at the Gtech Community Stadium makes him an obvious place to look.

Forest are 19th, one point above the bottom, with six points from nine games. They are the league’s lowest scorers, with six goals.

2 reasons Glasner may force Ola Aina out of Nottingham Forest

1. Glasner’s “buy in or go out” message

The former Crystal Palace coach made his demands clear, stating that so many things need to change.

“Maybe we need a bigger change than I thought, and I’m desperate to do it. I know what we have to do, and that’s going to be ruthless. Either you buy in, or you go out.

“I feel I made too many compromises, and I’m going to have a clear way now. I will say what we have to do.”

That is the context for Aina’s performance. He returned to the starting line-up on the right side of a back-three system, but was taken off at half-time along with Xaver Schlager, earning a 6.4 rating on FotMob.

Glasner has not explained the rationale behind the change, but a coach who says he will be ruthless is unlikely to ignore a half-time withdrawal, and Aina’s Brentford display fits the sort of output he says is no longer good enough.

2. Daniel Muñoz is waiting

The second factor is competition. Forest signed Colombia international Daniel Muñoz this summer, and the move threatened Aina’s place at full-back, as Glasner prefers to play a back three, with his wing-backs playing higher up the pitch.

The Brentford game showed how the pecking order has shifted. Aina returned to the XI ahead of Muñoz, but it was Muñoz who replaced him at the break.

Aina, meanwhile, was on the bench for Forest’s previous two games, and his last appearance before that came at centre-back.

Glasner has previously shown how much he values Aina’s versatility. When Jair Cunha and Nikola Milenković were ruled out before the 2-1 win at Aston Villa in September, he told Aina and Ousmane Diomande they would start in a back three.

“Especially with Ola, I had to ask him if he could imagine that this could work, and he said I can, and I knew he could,” Glasner said.

That versatility is Aina’s best strength at the moment, but if the coach does tear up the plan, Muñoz is the more natural wing-back, and Aina’s value may depend on how far Glasner goes.

What happens next at Forest?

Glasner has framed it as a choice for the squad, the players and the owners – change or be replaced.

“If the players buy in, I think we can have a turnaround, and if not, the sixth manager will come in,” he said.

For Aina, the next run of games matters. A start would be a chance to answer the Brentford half-time verdict. A place on the bench would suggest the shake-up has begun.

Forest meanwhile, have had four managers in the last year, firing Nuno Espírito Santo, Ange Postecoglou, Sean Dyche, and Vitor Pereira before settling on Glasner.