Former Nottingham Forest fan favourite Robert Earnshaw has backed Ange Postecoglou to secure a spectacular finish in his first season at the club.
Postecoglou has replaced Nuno Espirito Santo at Forest after the latter’s sacking. Postecoglou himself had been given the boot by Tottenham three months earlier.
But he quickly rose to the top of Forest’s options, and Evangelos Marinakis clearly backs him to do some good at the City Ground.
As does former Forest striker Earnshaw, who expects European football at the end of Postecoglou’s first season.
“I believe sixth, yeah. I’m going to go for it. Very bold, we’ll see you in a few months’ time if I’m correct,” he told Sky Sports.
“With Ange coming in, I just think Nottingham Forest fits him correctly. I just feel like it’s a good fit, the other thing is I think he’s got a really good squad.
“Good signings, manager that’s there, I think he’s going to really enjoy working with these players.
“I don’t want to see him change too much, because I want him to be authentic and be himself. So, I want the attacking football.
“I just think maybe you look at the [Europa League] final against Manchester United, he did tweak a few things, he did change what his approach was in order to win the game. That tells me that he is looking at it.
“And sometimes managers, after being sacked, go away and have a few months break, they look at what they’ve done and think, ‘this is what I need to get better at, this is what I need to tweak.’
“He’s going to come in fresh, a very good squad, really good players, and I think it’s set up for him, even the players at Nottingham Forest. I think they’re actually set up for his style of football.”
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Which players might NOT fit for Postecoglou
TEAMtalk has revealed five players we feel will be a hit in a Postecoglou system, with his high line a good fit for some attack-minded players.
But we also feel there are three players who might not have as much joy as expected.
Matz Sels – Last season’s golden glove winner was spectacular for Forest, but a high line will see him tasked with sweeping up outside his area.
For a man whose pass completion percentage was just 52 per cent in the Premier League last season, he could well struggle to properly adapt to the new system.
Nikola Milenkovic – Milenkovic has been a very solid defender for Forest during his time there, but the extreme of having to defend back towards his own goal more often than not could see him struggle.
A lack of pace means the high line does not suit his game, and he’d surely do better facing up to attackers than having to chase them back to his own net.
Douglas Luiz – Luiz has just returned to the Premier League after a season in Italy with Juventus.
Bedding back into a more physical game could be tough with the amount of running that he may have to do given the high-intensity of Postecoglou’s system.
Where will Forest finish in Postecoglou’s first season?