Ange Postecoglou was sacked by Nottingham Forest shortly after the Tricky Trees suffered another humiliating defeat at home to Chelsea, and the Australian gave his team a clear message just before Evangelos Marinakis’ eventual departure.
Ange Postecoglou sacked after disastrous spell at Nottingham Forest
Just months after leading Tottenham to their first major title in 17 years, the 60-year-old Postecoglou became the shortest-serving manager in Premier League history, breaking the record set by Les Reid, who was sacked by Charlton in 2006 after just 41 days.
Ange Postecoglou’s tenure at Nottingham Forest | competition |
|---|---|
Arsenal 3-0 Forest | premier league |
Swansea 3-2 Forest | carabao cup |
Burnley 1-1 Forest | premier league |
Real Betis 2-2 Forest | europe league |
Forest 0-1 Sunderland | premier league |
Forest 2-3 FC Midtjylland | europe league |
Newcastle 2-0 Forest | premier league |
Forest 0-3 Chelsea | premier league |
The pressure was firmly on Postecoglou ahead of this afternoon’s game against Chelsea, but the players were ultimately unable to save the tactician from Marinakis’ ax to grind.
Goals from Josh Achiampong, Pedro Neto and Reece James secured all three points for Enzo Maresca’s side, who finished the game with 10 men after Maro Gusto’s red card, but it’s no exaggeration to say that Postecoglou continues to have bad luck.
In what was his final pre-match press conference for Forest, the former Celtic manager launched a defiant defense of his career – perhaps knowing that today’s defeat meant the end of his time at the City Ground.
Postecoglou’s short reign as manager, who was brought in to transform Forest into an open, attacking and expansive team that played attractive football, was a nightmare for everyone involved.
His departure from Forest today marks the end of a tumultuous chapter that many had predicted all along.
Forest are thought to be considering a number of managers to replace the sacked Postecoglou, including Sean Dyche, Oliver Glasner, Marco Silva, Steve Cooper and Rafael Benitez.
With all eyes on Postecoglou’s successor, BBC reporter Nizar Kinsella has revealed what the manager said to Forest players just before he was sacked.
Ange Postecoglou’s words to Nottingham Forest players just before his sacking
Speaking to X, Kinsella suggested that Postecoglou knew he would be handed a P45 and only said “goodbye” to the dressing room before Forest’s official announcement.
Although Postecoglou had an impressive resume, his appointment always felt like a gamble that ultimately didn’t pay off.
He led Spurs to a fifth-place finish in his debut season at the north London club, the first season without Harry Kane, and had the best start ever for a new Premier League manager at the time.
However, injuries slowed his performance in his second season, and the Lilywhites finished in a lowly 17th place.
Winning in Europe helped hide Tottenham’s abysmal Premier League performance, but this time there was no room for Postecoglou to hide.
Postecoglou’s attack-oriented philosophy, while exciting, required a level of tactical understanding that required more time to put into practice, especially given the contrasting styles of Nuno Espirito Santo.
However, results are important in football, and Postecoglou’s overall performance was not enough to justify keeping him.
Now, the search for Mr. Marinakis’ manager has begun again, and he cannot afford to make a mistake with his next appointment.