Ange Postecoglou has spoken about his admiration for owner Evangelos Marinakis after taking on the job of Nottingham Forest head coach.
The former Tottenham Hotspur boss replaced Nuno Espirito Santo at the helm of the Reds on Tuesday. He has little time to settle in, given his first game is on Saturday when he will take his team to the Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal (12.30pm kick-off).
In his first press conference since taking on the job, Postecoglou set out his determination to be successful at the City Ground. Such a mindset will go down well with Marinakis, who outlined his ambition to secure trophies in a statement announcing the new man’s appointment.
“I've been in his company three or four times. I don’t know him well,” Postecoglou said of the Greek businessman.
“We were together in Athens (this summer) because he was presenting me with an award and I wasn't going to turn it down. It was very kind of him and it meant a lot to me because I was raised in Australia but I was born in Greece and I’m very proud of both nationalities. A lot of my recognition has come on the other side of the world, so to be recognised by the country I was born in was very humbling.
“I had a brief interaction with him there and a couple of other times. The other one was two or three years ago when Coops (Steve Cooper) was manager here, because we happened to be in Athens at the same time.
“I haven't spent a lot of time with him. But from afar, you've just got to admire his ambition and his willingness to take everything on and create something special.”
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Asked what Marinakis is like, Postecoglou replied: “I don't know. I've only met him a few times and I just said yes to him.
“People who have had the kind of existence he has had, it’s very hard for us to relate to. But the one thing about him you can't deny is he has taken over this club with the right intentions.
“It wasn’t a vehicle for people to find out who he is or for him to thrust himself into the spotlight. He wants to have a team that wins things.
“It's not easy, but you can go to London, buy one of the big clubs and you're already guaranteed success. I love the fact that he's picked up a club with a fantastic history, but they were in the Championship, and he’s taken them back into Europe.
“There’s a real merit there. I think that tells you enough about the kind of person he is.”
Postecoglou joked Marinakis’ proposal to take on the Forest job came at a good time. Out of work since being axed by Spurs in the summer, it didn’t take long for him to agree to the challenge.
“Quickly is the word,” Postecoglou said when outlining the timing of events. “It sort of developed over the weekend, then came to a head on Monday.
“All my staff were in different parts of the world. We had to make some quick decisions.
“The president caught me at a good moment - I'd just done the school run! That’s a great motivator to get back to work.
"We got into preliminary discussions over the weekend, then it got serious on the Monday. It didn’t take too much for me to realise this is a great opportunity. It has everything I look for in a challenge. I was excited to take it.”
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