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“This badge is more significant than any manager,” Sean Dyche declared at his unveiling as Nottingham Forest’s manager, wearing a training top with his initials. Subsequently, corrected himself. Actually, there was one manager who was probably as important as the badge – everyone recognizes who that was.”} Following that, an impression of the legendary manager, a crack at that unique accent. “‘Young ginger, well done,’” he said, reliving his three years as a trainee at the club's stadium, the period he spent wandering down the river, with Del Boy, dashing past him and his boss's voice invariably within hearing range.

Dyche shares a story of how, as a youngster, he and a few others tended Clough’s garden at his residence in Quarndon. “We were on £28.50 a week and he paid you a tenner to tend his garden. So we really thought: ‘This is decent.’ He’d cook for you and make sure you were cared for. It was quite enjoyable, not too much yard work.”

For Dyche, this moment has been a years in the making. He resides in the area and has a fondness for the club. In lately, he and his long-term assistant his deputy, who was a member of the Nottingham Forest side the last time they were in Europe, in 1995‑96, have occasionally popped into the West Bridgford coffee shop where club icons such as Frank Clark, another stalwart and Garry Birtles gather every Thursday to talk old and new tales. He will have to skip it this week to prepare for the arrival of Porto, unbeaten this season, in the European tournament on Thursday evening.

“I’m looking forward to seeing the miracle men,” remarked Dyche, who succeeded the previous coach to become the team's third head coach of the term. “They will give me a bit of ear-holing if I fail to deliver, so I must win some matches for them. Those guys mean a lot to me. A lot of Forest fans appreciate the history of this club. I’ve got my own and now I’ve got a opportunity to reshape my personal story, I suppose, as manager.”

The new boss oversaw Forest practice for the initial session on Tuesday, a short while after Postecoglou watched a three-nil home loss by Chelsea that placed the club in the Premier League drop zone. Ryan Yates, who joined as a child, admitted these are early days but Dyche and his staff have eased some of the gloom.

Dyche’s backroom team features another club icon in a former player, as well as Billy Mercer and another staff member, who played for the club. “I feel like a massive asset of this club is getting the bond between the fans, squad and manager and, frankly, the last few weeks we lacked a good feeling around here,” the captain said. Dyche and his staff have introduced that sense of life and energy.”

He made clear he does not “know the club like the inside out” given his latest encounter at Forest has been as an opposition boss, but he believes he has a wider understanding of the environment and expectations. The house rules have been laid. “I’ve let them wear white socks, for heaven's sake,” the manager commented. “I’ll have my ex-players criticizing me on WhatsApp. But they’re not allowed to wear neck warmers or headgear … I had to do a deal somewhere.”

Forest have been defeated in their past four fixtures and not won since the start of the season. Dyche said the owner, Evangelos Marinakis, understood the significance of stabilising the situation. He encountered the Greek billionaire in the Europa League with his former club, when his team lost in a playoff against Olympiakos in recent years. Following the initial match he voiced anger at club officials, among them the owner, confronting the referees at the break in the stadium. “We had a bit of a giggle,” Dyche recalled.

One aspect of his attraction is his image for building teams with strong bases, pertinent for a side without a clean sheet in 20 matches. “I’ve been put in many boxes, I’m not bothered,” he said. “I’ve never tried to hide behind what’s successful. It’s no badge of honour to me. In the past people were saying: ‘Why do you rely on set pieces?’ Now they’re popular. Skinny jeans, wide-leg pants, skinny jeans, bell-bottoms … my child criticizes me for any trousers I wear. Apparently on social media even I got some criticism for my trainers arriving at practice [on Tuesday] … couldn’t believe that. A brand [trainers] but, regardless, don’t like to bring it up it.”

The manager is proud that his early career were at the club but thinks that should not mean he or his team are evaluated differently. “There’s no shortcut with the fans, but we do care, that’s a point I don’t think can ever be questioned,” he said. “All I dreamt of was wearing the jersey, but I didn't manage to achieve it. Steve Stone and Ian Woan did, Billy Mercer did as a loan keeper, Tony Loughlan featured and netted a goal. I was the sole person who failed to and they keep reminding me of that.

“In my case to have that part of it is a big thing for me individually. But it doesn't grant me a special privilege, believe me. The supporters want me to succeed. If I’m failing, the fans are going to come at me because how supporters behave and I’ve got no problem with that because that’s the reality. I was at the club as a kid and didn't get to wear the shirt, the emblem. Well, now, I’m sitting with it on me.”