Nottingham Forest new owners part with Steve Cotterill The club will be making no further comment at this time. Cotterill left Portsmouth to take over at the City Ground on October 14, 2011 after a compensation package was agreed with Forest's fellow Championship strugglers. The Reds were 21st in the table when he arrived and battled against relegation for the remainder of the campaign, with Cotterill eventually securing survival and a 19th-place finish. The former Cheltenham and Notts County boss had to contend with crippling financial constraints during his tenure, as well as the death of the club's owner Nigel Doughty in February. The Al-Hasawi family took control of Forest this week after reaching terms to buy the controlling stake left by Doughty.