Ange Postecoglou admitted a 3-0 defeat to Arsenal came on the back of a ‘disruptive week’ for his Nottingham Forest players.
The 60-year-old was appointed Reds head coach on Tuesday and had minimal time with his squad before their trip to the Emirates Stadium. It meant little opportunity for the new man to implement his ideas.
Postecoglou explained earlier in the week, he felt he needed to give players time to process the news of Nuno Espirito Santo’s departure. The Portuguese had been loved by the dressing room, and his sacking came just three games into the Premier League campaign.
With so much going on, preparation for the clash with the Gunners had not been the easiest. And Postecoglou emphasised such context when assessing his team’s loss in the capital.
“It’s a disappointing result. Fair play to them, they are a very good side - especially at home,” he said.
“Even when things are going well it is still a difficult task to come here. But to keep my disappointment in terms of the result in context, it has been a very disruptive week for the players.
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“Seven days ago, their world was totally different from what it is today. We have to understand that, and I certainly do.
“I can’t fault the players’ endeavour and effort. I thought we hung in there.
“We never really had control of the game at any point, but we worked really hard in the first half. There were small seeds towards the end of the first half of us being able to cause them some problems. The second goal, straight after half-time, killed the game. They were very good at controlling it from there and we weren’t able to get back in it.
“You can’t accept defeat and you’ve got to be disappointed by it. But in the context of what the week has been like, I can’t fault the players in terms of what they were trying to do.
“Some of the players were on international duty, others had the weekend off and only got back in on Tuesday. What they left, when they left the club, to what they inherited was totally different - new face, new voices, new coaching, new training.”
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