Ange Postecoglou slammed his Nottingham Forest players following their Carabao Cup collapse against Swansea City - a loss eerily similar to his 'worst defeat' as Tottenham manager. Former Spurs boss Postecoglou, who was appointed by Forest last week, led new side for the second time on Wednesday, as they travelled to Wales for a Carabao Cup third round tie.
At half-time, it was all going smoothly. Forest were 2-0 up thanks to a brace from new signing Igor Jesus, and travelling supporters were already beginning to think about who they might face in the fourth round.
But there was a sting in the tail. Cameron Burgress pulled one back for the hosts just after the hour mark, forcing a nervy finish.
Zan Vipotnik levelled the scores in the 93rd minute, and suddenly, the game looked to be going to extra-time. But the hosts weren't finished there.
Following up a rebound after Swansea rattled the crossbar, Burgress scored his second of the night in the seventh minute of stoppage time, compounding Postecoglou's misery. The Australian-Greek coach stood in shock on the sidelines, shaking his head in disbelief.
BRIGHTON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 06: Ange Postecoglou, Manager of Tottenham Hotspur, shows dejection after the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC at Amex Stadium on October 06, 2024 in Brighton, England. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)
Ange Postecoglou experienced defeat in a similar manner last season (Image: Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)
Post-match, Postecoglou bemoaned: "I got a sense the players thought it was just going to happen automatically and that we were totally in control of the game. But it's cup football and we should have been a lot more prepared for what was going to come and handled it a lot better than what we did.
"We just had to stay calm. There was no need for us to be so frenetic in our football.
"I just got the sense that we thought, 'Oh, well, we'll get a third and finish them off'. Towards the end there, we just thought it would naturally just pan out that we would win the game and get through but that's not how football works."
Nearly a year to the day, in early October 2024, Postecoglou witnessed Tottenham also throw away a 2-0 lead at Brighton. Spurs were cruising on the south coach before the Seagulls bit back with three unanswered goals, prompting the 60-year-old to label it the 'worst defeat' of his tenure.
"Disappointing, frustrated and absolutely gutted with that," Postecoglou told Sky Sports at the time. "Worst defeat since I've been here. Unacceptable second half. Nowhere near where we should be.
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"We got carried away with how we were going. We kind of accepted our fate and it is hard to understand as we've not done that while I've been here. We paid the price. The problem is we are travelling along too smoothly, football and life will trip you up if you get too far ahead of yourself."
Postecoglou, who got the job following the sacking of Nuno Espirito Santo, has now suffered back-to-back losses. Arsenal dispatched Forest 3-0 on Saturday, and he was mocked by the home side's fans, who chanted: "You're getting sacked in the morning."
Postecoglou's wait for a home game will continue this weekend, as his team travel to Burnley on Saturday. Forest then keep travelling with a trip to Spain to face Real Betis in their Europa League opener before hosting Sunderland next weekend.
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