Callum Hudson-Odoi has admitted Nottingham Forest will need to adapt quickly as they get to know new head coach Ange Postecoglou.
Appointed on Tuesday, following the dismissal of Nuno Espirito Santo in the early hours of that day, Postecoglou has limited time to work with his squad before they take to the pitch. The Reds’ managerial change came just a few days before they return to action from the international break with a trip to face Arsenal on Saturday (12.30pm kick-off).
Renowned for his attacking style, Postecoglou’s ethos is very different to that of Nuno. For the players, it is about taking his ideas on board as soon as possible - and it seems the 60-year-old has set standards high from the start with a demanding first training session.
Asked in an interview with talkSPORT if he had spoken to any of Postecoglou’s former players about the new man, Hudson-Odoi said: “I just wait to see what happens. I’d rather just wait and see how he is.
“It (the first training session) was a session! It was a session, I’ll be honest! It was good.
“For us, you would rather wait and see what happens than to be asking so many questions because everyone has different opinions. I would rather just wait and see for myself and judge it for myself. It was good.
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“For us, it’s building that relationship with him early and getting the ideas of what he wants to bring into the team. As players, when a manager comes in you have to make sure you get that quickly because games happen fast.
“There’s one coming on Saturday, so for us it is making sure we’re ready and prepared. We need to make sure everyone knows what he wants us to do and try to apply that to the game.”
Nuno’s departure from the City Ground came just three games into the Premier League campaign. The Portuguese had guided Forest to a seventh-placed finish last time around but a fallout behind the scenes with global head of football Edu was at the heart of his downfall.
“With me and him, it was very close. We had a good bond,” Hudson-Odoi said of Nuno.
“We spoke about everything and every situation - whether it was on the pitch or off the pitch. He was just trying to get to know me more and I was trying to understand him as a coach; understand what his ideas were.
“We definitely had a good bond. For myself, he improved me a lot. He matured my game a lot and made me understand a lot more about the game - knowing what to do to be better in positions when we’re getting close to the goal and defending.
“He had a massive impact on me, I’ll be honest. It was a sad day to see what happened, but at the end of the day excited for the new chapter as well. I wish him nothing but the best for the future.”
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