Nottingham Forest were humbled in the Carabao Cup by Swansea City to leave Ange Postecoglou perplexed.
The Forest head coach watched his team play well for 45 minutes and go into a 2-0 lead against Championship opposition.
However, Postecoglou tore shreds off his team at the end of the game after witnessing the Swans score twice in stoppage time to claim a 3-2 victory.
After the game, Forest players looked forlorn, and something that Postecoglou did proved quite telling.
Nottingham Forest manager Ange Postecoglou.
Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images
What Ange Postecoglou did after Forest lost to Swansea
It’s hard to blame Postecoglou entirely for last night’s defeat, with some Forest players needing a firm rocket.
Postecoglou tried to explain what went wrong for Forest, and it would appear that the mentality of some players simply isn’t where it needs to be.
The substitutes were largely required due to some players being short of game time, but the likes of Morgan Gibbs-White and Callum Hudson-Odoi were unable to see the game out.
Conceding three for the third game in succession suggests there is a seriously soft underbelly developing at Forest, and it represents a huge cause for concern.
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After the game, Postecoglou faced the music with the annoyed travelling fans and appeared to do something that suggested it was on him.
The Australian clapped the contingent of supporters who made the long trip to Wales and appeared to point to himself to take the heat off of the players.
After the game, he told Nottinghamshire Live: “I was just acknowledging the fans. We put them through a tough night, so I was just acknowledging the fans.”
Postecoglou already under pressure ahead of big week
Losing to lower league opposition is one thing, but losing to a Championship side from 2-0 up with less than 30 minutes to play is frankly pathetic.
Forest now play Burnley away and Sunderland at home, with a Europa League clash against Real Betis in the middle.
If Forest don’t go to Burnley and claim a victory, things could turn very toxic very quickly, with the Reds needing points to climb the table.
Last night was hard to completely pin on Postecoglou, given that he masterminded the team going in front in the first half.
However, he will have learned a lot about the mentality of his team last night, and the pre-season excitement has already extinguished.