Nottingham Forest fans are set to experience their first proper taste of Ange Postecoglou’s football against Swansea City, but Jamie O’Hara remains unconvinced by the former Tottenham man.
Clearly, Saturday wasn’t the best start to the Postecoglou era as Forest lost 3-0 away against Arsenal, but there was no expectation that everything would immediately click.
In the aftermath, though, it was made clear that Forest’s style would change against Swansea into something that more resembles a Postecoglou side.
However, pundit and Tottenham fan O’Hara is not expecting things to change for the better for Forest, making his feelings clear about Postecoglou’s style live on Sky Sports.
Ange Postecoglou on the sidelines as Nottingham Forest manager
Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images
Jamie O’Hara slams Ange Postecoglou for ‘huge mistakes’ at Tottenham
Postecoglou won the Europa League with Spurs, but a club-worst 17th Premier League finish made his position untenable and his reputation forever tainted.
Clearly, this league finish is what resonated most with O’Hara, who has cast doubt over the Australian’s chances of a positive stint at the City Ground.
He said: “No it won’t work, absolutely not. The only way it’s going to work at Nottingham Forest is if he’s learnt from the huge mistakes he made tactically at Tottenham.
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“It was a disaster at Tottenham. The football in the end was tepid; it was awful to watch. I’m amazed at this decision from Marinakis to bring him in, […] this is a huge risk bringing in Postecoglou, I don’t think he deserves the job at Nottingham Forest.”
Criticising his time at Tottenham is one thing, but for O’Hara to question whether Postecoglou deserves the Forest job truly emphasises the 60-year-old’s reputation in some sections of the media, a reputation that he will be hoping to reset starting on Wednesday.
Ange Postecoglou can start to show his worth against Swansea
Postecoglou was Evangelos Marinakis’ dream appointment, so the faith of the owner won’t be in question, even if the likes of O’Hara continue to doubt his credentials.
It’s unwanted noise surrounding the club, though, so the Swansea game presents an opportunity to show what a Postecoglou side is capable of.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, the head coach said: “They are all important [matches] in the context of the club’s ambition and where we are in terms of the season and with me coming in, it’s a great opportunity to implement some of the things we want to.
“I got to the semi-finals last year, and I think every opportunity you have to win a trophy, you shouldn’t let go. It is hard to win things in football. This cup gives us every opportunity to win some silverware.”
If Forest can go far in the Carabao Cup, starting with a win on Wednesday, it’ll go some way to bringing people around to Postecoglou and his methods.