Ange Postecoglou’s time at Tottenham delivered a Europa League trophy but a club-record low Premier League finish, a contrast he feels he can avoid at Nottingham Forest.
Forest fans were impressed by Postecoglou in his first interview as head coach, as the Australian revealed his willingness to adapt his somewhat divisive attacking tactics.
His expansive style of play is more positive in the media, though, with Robert Earnshaw predicting a top-six finish for Forest under Postecoglou.
For this success to occur, Postecoglou will have to find a better way of competing on multiple fronts, something he discussed in his first press conference on Thursday.
Ange Postecoglou Unveiled As New Nottingham Forest Head Coach
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Ange Postecoglou compares his Tottenham and Nottingham Forest squads
Pressing played a big role in Postecoglou’s first training session, so the style of play clearly isn’t changing at Forest. However, the 60-year-old has revealed to the press that he believes his new group of players have a better chance of adapting.
He said: “Last year was a unique season anyway. We [Tottenham] didn’t have a great pre-season. We just weren’t prepared. Ultimately, that cost us. We just didn’t prepare well.
“I do think that when I look at the squad, there’s certainly a little bit more experience than there was [at Spurs]. We signed some young players in the beginning of the year at Spurs.
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“I just know the demands of Thursday, Sunday football, particularly playing away in Europe. I think I’ll be better equipped to handle it as well as the staff I have.”
Evangelos Marinakis’ £200m investment in the summer window has left Postecoglou with a squad that should be able to compete domestically and in Europe. Perhaps unfortunately, though, he’ll have to immediately use this expanded squad due to an injury issue at the City Ground.
Ange Postecoglou provides Nottingham Forest injury update
During the international break, the main focus was on Elliot Anderson’s star performances for England, but there was bad news for another star player.
Ola Aina picked up an injury for Nigeria and was forced off the pitch against South Africa after just 10 minutes, with Postecoglou able to provide a small update on the right-back.
He said: “I think we’ve got a clean bill of health, apart from Aina. We will get some information on him this afternoon after some scans.”
This should mean that Italian defender Nicolo Savona makes his debut against Arsenal, in a match that will make it clear just how much work Postecoglou will need to do to implement his style.