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Alex McLeish has been appointed the new manager of Nottingham Forest.

The 53-year-old former Aston Villa, Birmingham and Scotland boss replaces Sean O'Driscoll, who was sacked on 26 December after five months in charge.

"I believe he's the man who can help us fulfil our ambition of making it to the Premier League," said Forest chairman Fawaz Al Hasawi.

McLeish said: "The fact a club of Forest's magnitude has offered me a job excites me greatly."

The Scot has been out of football since being sacked by Villa at the end of last season after 11 months at the helm.

"I've had time away from the game and now feel refreshed and ready to go," he added.

"I can't wait to get started and I'm looking forward to meeting the players, talking to them and taking my first training session."

A statement on "The 53-year-old Scot will begin work at the City Ground tomorrow (Friday) and will be in charge for Saturday's home game against Crystal Palace."

McLeish takes over Forest with them in eighth place, having collected 36 points from 24 games.

"I'm delighted to welcome Alex to our Club and look forward to working with him," added Al Hasawi.

"Alex took Birmingham to promotion from the Championship and has great experience of working in the Premier League."

Forest will hold a news conference on Friday to officially unveil McLeish as their new manager.

O'Driscoll, 55, was relieved of his duties hours after a 4-2 Championship win against Leeds that left the club one point off sixth-placed Watford.

Al Hasawi had earlier declared that Forest would be "looking to bring in an ambitious manager with Premier League experience", stating that "with the January transfer window approaching, we feel it's the right time to make a change".