According to reports, Ange Postecoglou has made a key decision on his ‘playing style’ after replacing Nuno Espirito Santo at Nottingham Forest.
Earlier this week, Postecoglou penned a two-year contract to become Nottm Forest’s new head coach following the club’s decision to sack Nuno.
The former head coach was dismissed following his fallout with Evangelos Marinakis and Edu, with his position untenable despite playing a huge role in Nottm Forest‘s rapid rise from a relegation battle to qualifying for Europe.
Marinakis subsequently revealed that he has opted for Postecoglou to boost Nottm Forest’s chances of winning a trophy as he looks to cement the team as one of the best in the Premier League.
There are significant differences between Nuno and Postecoglou’s playing style, with Nottm Forest going for an exciting approach with the former Tottenham Hotspur and Celtic boss.
However, Forest’s current squad is tailored to Nuno’s pragmatic approach, so Postecoglou could find it difficult to implement his free-flowing playing style in the middle of the season.
And a report from The Daily Mail claims Postecoglou has acknowledged that he needs to be patient, with it suggested that he ‘at least initially, is unlikely to overhaul the playing style completely, though there will necessarily be certain tweaks’.
The same report has revealed Postecoglou’s ‘first message to his Forest players’, with his ‘first meeting used to offer every player a chance to impress following an unsettling start to the season’.
The report added:
‘Even though several members of the squad have not yet returned from international duty, Postecoglou stressed that everyone has the opportunity to be involved at Arsenal on Saturday.
‘That will be music to the ears of players like Omari Hutchinson and Douglas Luiz, the summer signings who saw little or no action during the final games of Nuno Espirito Santo’s reign.’
Former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan has explained why he thinks Postecoglou will face the “same challenges” at Nottm Forest after struggling at Spurs.
“There’s a dearth of talent to go round so you have to go back to other people’s cast-offs. He’s a cast-off from Spurs, isn’t he? He was cast asunder,” Jordan said.
“Whether he’s going to have learnt lessons from Tottenham and subsequently deploy them differently at Nottingham Forest, he will have the same challenges.
“Nottingham Forest are looking upwards and Marinakis is no easy person to work for – in terms of being very demanding, and so he should be because he spends the money, which gives him the right to be demanding.
“Nottingham Forest have ambitions to win things. If he sets himself up the same way he did for Tottenham, he will have the same challenges, won’t he? Interesting fit.”