Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis is braced to make a ruthless call on new manager Ange Postecoglou after his dreadful start to life at the City Ground, which was compounded by a surprise 3-2 loss to Danish minnows FC Midtjylland in the Europa League.
Ange Postecoglou reacts to Nottingham Forest sack rumours
Just six games into his tenure, Postecoglou is already facing reports that he could be sacked if they lose to Newcastle United this weekend.
The 60-year-old has guided Forest to four losses and two draws from his opening matches in charge, having just been appointed under a month ago, and Marinakis could ruthlessly cut ties with Postecoglou despite only just arriving.
While Forest have displayed brief flashes of brilliant, interchange attacking play, the squad is really not coping well with Postecoglou’s brand of ‘Angeball’ as they struggle to adjust to a completely new system to that of his predecessor.
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Ange Postecoglou’s tenure at Nottingham Forest so far |
Competition |
|---|---|
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Arsenal 3-0 Forest |
Premier League |
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Swansea 3-2 Forest |
Carabao Cup |
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Burnley 1-1 Forest |
Premier League |
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Real Betis 2-2 Forest |
Europa League |
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Forest 0-1 Sunderland |
Premier League |
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Forest 2-3 FC Midtjylland |
Europa League |
Unlike Nuno’s dogged, pragmatic and counter-attacking style, Forest are tasked with playing a more front-footed, open and offensive game — and this has resulted in Forest conceding 13 goals since Postecoglou’s arrival.
They’ve also looked extremely vulnerable to set-pieces, which was on full display against Midtjylland, as chants of ‘you’re getting sacked in the morning’ rang around the City Ground.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of Newcastle at St. James’ Park, Postecoglou sent a defiant message that he’s unfazed by the noise and solely focused on winning matches.
“I get it [speculation about his future] and it is a valid assumption in modern football,” said Postecoglou in reaction to reports about his uncertain future.
“There is always a manager under pressure but I do not think that way.
“Put it this way, I knew I was getting sacked at Tottenham about three of four months before I did and it did not stop me winning something.
“It [pressure] does not enter my head. My responsibility lies in making sure this club progresses and gets to a position where it can challenge for things. If I start putting timelines to that, to start worrying about what is going to happen next week, then I am not going to be performing the role I was given and I just do not think it is helpful to anyone.”
Fabrizio Romano has suggested that Forest could be patient with Postecoglou, but Sky Sports report that Marinakis isn’t afraid to make a cut-throat decision.
Sky Sports share Ange Postecoglou sack update out of Nottingham Forest
The broadcast giant, sharing an update via their live broadcast, says that Marinakis isn’t afraid to pull the plug on Postecoglou and could do it imminently if results continue to on a downward trajectory.
“We at Sky Sports news have been told, the owner, Evangelos Marinakis, will not hesitate in removing Postecoglou, if performances and results don’t improve quickly,” they said.
“But, he does retain the immediate support of the club’s hierarchy, who are only focusing on the game against Newcastle on Sunday.”
Postecoglou, if sacked after Newcastle, could break the Premier League record for shortest reign by any manager, and it would be another unwanted blotch on his CV after also making the worst start by any Forest boss for 100 years.
That being said, despite Forest’s woeful form, Sky pundit Jamie Redknapp believes it would be “crazy” for Postecoglou to go already.
“It’s a bit crazy. He’s six games into his tenure. If it’s six months and they’re still performing like this and in a bad run, then I get it because that’s just the way football is. But six games doesn’t sit right with me.
“Every day in training, different sessions, getting used to it and more forward-thinking. His philosophy is completely different to Nuno’s.
“You have to give the players time to adapt and definitely more than six games. That doesn’t make sense to me.”
