Morgan Gibbs-White has been accused of throwing shade at Ange Postecoglou in his post-match interview after Nottingham Forest’s 2-0 win over Porto in the Europa League on Thursday night. The result marked a winning start for Sean Dyche - Forest’s third manager of the season - who achieved something his predecessor failed to do during an eight-game tenure.
There had been concern around the County Ground that parting ways with Nuno Espirito Santo, following a public spat between the dugout and the hierarchy, might trigger a slow and painful decline for a club that had just returned to European competition for the first time in nearly two decades. But two penalties - converted by Gibbs-White and Igor Jesus - quickly helped restore belief.
If club owner Evangelos Marinakis’ decision to replace the pragmatist in search of something fresher and more exciting needed any vindication that it was wrong, it came in the form of Forest’s midweek display. The team managed to retain much of the forgotten identity that has helped drive them up the table, with Dyche's structured approach far better suited to Forest's defensively sound squad.
Morgan Gibbs-White Appears To Throw Shade on Ange Postecoglou
Sean Dyche Nottingham Forest
Clearly, Dyche has already made an immediate impact on the players. Those tuning in on Thursday night were quick to notice that Gibbs-White appeared to be subtly drawing comparisons between the new manager and his predecessor, whose reign was the second-shortest in Premier League history after only lasting 39 days in the hot seat. He said (watch the full interview below):
"I feel like I can finally breathe! It's been a difficult couple of months here, with all the change that has happened, the bad performances, so I'm just happy to get our first win out of eight, nine games I think it is. Those three points are for the fans for sticking by us.
"[Asked whether the club's identity felt a little more back] Yeah, that was the first thing the gaffer came in and said, he was like 'last season, you had a real identity, you had a real structure with how you wanted to play,' and he wants to bring that in and build on top of that. We were solid, hard to break down, and we were a bit more clinical."
"That's brutal for Ange's reputation," one X user replied, "Feels like this will be hard for him to recover." Elsewhere, a second added: "Ange [Postecoglou] isn't even there and he's getting a beating," as a third claimed: "He never liked Ange." Another also remarked:
"The players definitely played a part in Ange being sacked…"
ange postecoglou
While Postecoglou's managerial philosophy often veers toward the experimental - prioritising entertainment and bold new ideas - Dyche's no-nonsense, businesslike approach fits Forest like a glove. His Burnley and Everton sides may never have set pulses racing, but his tactics were ruthlessly effective in what is, at the end of the day, a results-driven business.
The Tricky Trees’ next fixture is an away trip to Bournemouth in the Premier League, followed by a home clash with Manchester United a week later. They’re hardly straightforward tests, but for those of a City Ground persuasion, these matches will reveal much more about what their new manager is made of.