The Ange Postecoglou era is underway at Nottingham Forest, with the club now looking to land silverware under their new boss.
With the sacking of Nuno Espirito Santo now confirmed, following a successful spell at the club, followed by the appointment of Ange Postecoglou, all eyes are on how Nottingham Forest will now progress.
Last season saw the Midlands outfit transformed into surprise top-four contenders, but they eventually fell away as they had to settle for a place outside the Champions League.
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They were then handed a place in the Europa League, a competition that the new manager is all too familiar with.
Postecoglou won the Europa League at Tottenham, one of his final acts in North London before he was dismissed for a dismal Premier League campaign.
Now at Nottingham Forest, the head coach has his eyes on yet more success and glory as one of the favourites to win the whole competition again.
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou lifts the Europa League trophy.
Photo by Alex Pantling – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Nottingham Forest ranked third favourites to win the Europa League
Nottingham Forest are a club with plenty of European pedigree, and their return to continental competitions comes with the fanbase hoping they can lift another trophy.
With Ange Postecoglou’s experience of winning the competition last year, the tools are there for the side to make a deep run in the tournament.
That is backed up by Opta Analyst and their supercomputer, which has ranked Nottingham Forest as the third favourites to win the Europa League.
They have been given an 11.3% chance of lifting the trophy, while only Roma (12.8%) and Aston Villa (21.6%) have been ranked higher.
There is plenty of competition around Forest, though, as some big clubs such as Lille, Lyon, Porto, Stuttgart, and Celtic are all just below.
The league phase of the competition won’t be particularly easy, but Nottingham Forest are now built to compete across several competitions.
Ange Postecoglou gestures during Brighton and Hove Albion v Tottenham Hotspur
Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images
Nottingham Forest squad now built for the Europa League
One thing Nuno Espirito Santo made very clear was that he liked to have a very close squad, which worked last season as the team knew how to play, while there was some luck on the injury front.
However, with the introduction of European football for the first time since 1995/96, Nottingham Forest needed to add some depth to the team.
An aggressive transfer approach from Edu Gaspar has seen the squad improve in several areas, with real strength in the forward areas in particular.
Given the injury troubles at Tottenham last season, Postecoglou will be glad to have options at his disposal to play his brand of football.
Whether all of those profiles will fit what he wants is unclear, but it’s a team that should be capable of making a deep run into the Europa League, even with some injury troubles.