Soccer:Nottingham Forest's new owners hope to have a manager in place within a week, with Mick McCarthy, Glenn Hoddle and ex-Forest star Roy Keane among the frontrunners for the post.

The Kuwait-based Al Hasawi family today outlined their plans for the Championship club. Their first task is to find a new manager after they sacked Steve Cotterill barely 48 hours after completing their takeover.

Former Tottenham and England boss Hoddle is among the favourites for the role along with McCarthy, Keane and Darren Ferguson.

But Abdulaziz Al Hasawi said: “We have not spoken to Glenn Hoddle.” He added: “Steve Cotterill was a good steward for Forest during difficult times, but we felt we needed a fresh start.

“We are in discussions with four or five well-known figures in the football world, who have a perfect understanding of this league,

and hopefully in a week all matters should be finalised and it will be revealed. We are looking for the best in the business. We will start meeting people within a day. We have to secure this within the next three or four days because we have to get started.”

The Al Hasawis took control of Forest on Tuesday after reaching terms to buy the late Nigel Doughty’s controlling stake in the two-time European Cup winners. Their aim is to take the club back into the Premier League, although Abdulaziz Al Hasawi warned success would not come overnight.

He added: “We have a three to five-year plan to get the club back where it should be. It will require hard work and sacrifice but that is our ambition. It is not about money, it is about ambition. Football is in our blood. We are in a different league but we have hopes that someday we will be playing Manchester City and Manchester United.”