‘Winning trophies’ & Champions League qualification - Evangelos Marinakis makes a believer of Nottingham Forest promotion hero Jack Colback

Marinakis seized control at the City Ground when completing a takeover of the then Championship outfit in May 2017. There was talk at that stage of five-year projects that would return Forest to where they believe they belong - among the elite.

Those heights were scaled in miraculous circumstances under the legendary Brian Clough, but top-flight football had been missing from Trentside since 1999 when Marinakis arrived in that part of the world - while no continental adventures had been enjoyed by two-time European Cup winners since 1996.

Both of those boxes have now been ticked, with promotion into the Premier League being enjoyed in 2022 - just inside the initial five-year timescale. Steve Cooper guided Forest to the big time, as play-off final glory was savoured at Wembley - with four more managers occupying the dugout since then, all of which filled that post at some point during a hectic 2025-26 campaign.

A run to the Europa League semi-finals was enjoyed, as a 30-year wait for competitive football outside of England was brought to a close, having previously reached the last four of Carabao Cup and FA Cup competition.

Too many relegation battles have been taken in for Marinakis’ liking since the Reds bounced back into the big time, with the promise of more spending in transfer markets to come as the loftiest of targets are chased down.

Quizzed on whether Marinakis can deliver silverware and Champions League football, 2022 promotion-winning hero Colback - speaking in association with Bally Bet - told GOAL: “I remember him talking about that when we’d just been promoted. As players you are kind of thinking ‘I’m not sure about that, it’s a bit early’. But he’s kind of backed it up - nearly got Champions League last season and got the Europa League, to the semi-finals, this season.

“I think they will recruit well again. You can’t stand still in the Premier League now, it’s ever-moving. I think the ambition can be Europe and beyond, winning trophies, it’s what the club deserves because it’s a fantastic club.”

Forest, and Marinakis, have made plenty of headlines since rejoining the Premier League ranks. Life is rarely dull at the City Ground and the Reds are considered to have the perfect leader at their helm - as the legendary ‘Rebel City’ mentality of Robin Hood is embraced in Nottingham.

Fans have fully bought into high hopes, along with those that grace the dressing room. Another former fan favourite, ex-Wales international striker Rob Earnshaw, has previously told GOAL of Marinakis’ antics - which always have the club’s best interests at heart: “When Mr Marinakis comes on the pitch and he’s greeting players in the tunnel, for me there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

“Also, in Greece, when you are the owner, you are entitled to go in the dressing room, to go on the pitch, it’s part of the game as you come and be part of it - you speak with the players and you are the man in the middle. As the owner, you get a better feeling of what’s going on inside the football club.

“I have no problem with it and think Mr Marinakis has done a fantastic job. He is of course very ruthless and very determined, very direct in his ways, but he has taken this football club - in the last five/six years - into where it should be, in the Premier League, playing in Europe and having big European nights, playing in the Premier League and having the chance to go to the Champions League. Those moments are what every Forest fan wants to happen.

“I enjoy it. I enjoy him being involved. I think it’s been unbelievable and he deserves a lot of credit because he hasn’t just invested in the football club, he has fully invested himself in order to take the club to be successful. It has been a hell of a journey, a hell of a few years, but it wouldn’t be Forest if it was boring and we didn’t have personalities.

“Football is about personalities, so I love that. They shouldn’t just be sat there and you never hear from them in the box. They are part of the football club and their personality comes out. I’m all for that.”

The transfer rumour mill is back in full swing at the City Ground - when it comes to arrivals and departures - with the intention being to ensure that head coach Vitor Pereira has a star-studded squad at his disposal for the 2026-27 campaign - one that can see collective sights set on top-seven finishes and memorable cup runs.

There is the potential for more heroes to be made on the banks of the Trent, with a few players that fall into that category - including Colback - having recently returned to familiar surroundings.

Nottingham Forest's front of shirt partner Bally Bet has been on a mission to give long-serving grassroots players the recognition they have earned. Forest great Mark Crossley was set the challenge of compiling the first ever All-Stars Vets squad, made up from the real characters of the game in a celebration of everything that makes grassroots great.

Crossley was ably supported by other recognisable Forest faces as he set about assembling the Bally Bet All-Stars. The All-Stars were given the full Premier League treatment, swapping the recreation grounds for the City Ground, as they turned out against a team of hand-picked Forest legends on May 28.