Alex McLeish: 'I rejected summer interest from Nottingham Forest'

Nottingham Forest boss Alex McLeish has revealed that he rejected the opportunity to open talks about the club's managerial position during the summer.

Sean O'Driscoll replaced Steve Cotterill as the Forest manager during the summer before he was replaced by McLeish earlier this week.

However, McLeish has admitted that he was approached to become Forest's manager five months ago, but he insisted that he needed time away from football after leaving Aston Villa.

He told the Nottingham Evening Post: "I was sounded out back in the summer. It was not directly by Forest, but there was contact with an agent.

"I was asked if I would be interested and I said no, because I wanted to take a break from the game. I seriously had to do that, at that point."

McLeish will take charge of his first Nottingham Forest match on Saturday when they play Crystal Palace.