The Spaniard was manager at the City Ground for just over a year, leaving in January 2018.
Aitor Karanka has given an interview to The Mirror in which he admitted he left Nottingham Forest to give them a better chance of achieving promotion from the Championship and suggested that he was not given the time that was previously agreed when he took the job.
Despite being unhappy with how things turned out at the City Ground, however, the Spaniard had good words about the Reds fans, saying that they, like at prior club Middlesbrough, were supportive and good to him.
Karanka’s stint at Forest was his second in management, having previously Middlesbrough to promotion to the Premier League and, before then, having a spell as assistant boss to Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid.
The 45-year-old took charge of the Trickies on 8 January 2018 and guided the team to a 17th-placed finish in the Championship, but left on 11 January the following year, with the Reds four points adrift of the playoffs.
“I felt under pressure and I was trying to take all the pressure out and away from the players,” Karanka said on the subject of leaving the City Ground when he did. “When there are rumours that you can’t control it puts pressure on the players and this persuaded me to leave.
“The support of the fans really touched me. I’ve been a manager for just five years and in the end when you leave a club it’s disappointing. But both experiences, Middlesbrough and Forest, the best thing you can take is the crowds because both of them have been really supportive and good with me.”
Forest, who appointed Reds legend Martin O’Neill after Karanka’s exit, ultimately finished ninth in the Championship table, eight points adrift of the playoffs.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
