Ange Postecoglou has vowed to turn the tide of fan discontent at Nottingham Forest after a rocky start to his tenure. The Australian manager admitted he heard the boos and chants of "sacked in the morning" following Forest's 3-2 Europa League defeat to Midtjylland at the City Ground.
The defeat against the Danish side was a bitter pill to swallow for Forest fans, who saw their team concede three goals at home. Ousmane Diao's early goal was cancelled out by Dan Ndoye, before Midtjylland retook the lead through Mads Bech and Valdemar Andreasen sealed the win. Chris Wood managed a late penalty, but it wasn't enough to prevent the unrest from the home crowd.
Postecoglou, who was appointed as Nuno Espirito Santo's successor just three months after being sacked by Tottenham, is yet to win a game in charge, losing four of his first six matches. This makes him the first Forest manager in 100 years to be winless in his first six games.
Despite the difficult start, Postecoglou remains confident that he can turn things around. "The fans are disappointed. They're allowed to have their opinion on it and I heard their opinion," Postecoglou said. "Nothing surprises me anymore in football. I guess it's just the climate we're in and it seems that's the way things are going".
Postecoglou is determined to bring success to the club, stating, "But that's nothing I can control, my responsibility to make sure we try and get some wins for this football club and progress it and that's what I'll be focusing on". He added: “Yes I do (believe things can turn) and nothing that I saw tonight changes any of that".
The Australian manager, who led Tottenham to Europa League success before his departure, knows the responsibility he carries at a club with such a rich history. "It's a fantastic football club with great history and, even in recent times, it has done really well," he said. "You bear that responsibility, but I'm excited and I'm looking forward to it and I'm really happy to be here".
Postecoglou has brought in familiar faces to his Forest backroom staff, including Mile Jedinak, Nick Montgomery and Sergio Raimundo as assistant coaches, and Rob Burch as goalkeeper coach. He aims to implement his own ideas and build on the progress made under Nuno Espirito Santo.
"From seven days ago from when we played Arsenal, we look a different team and we saw elements of that on Wednesday night too,” Postecoglou said, reflecting on the team's evolution. He also praised the performance of goalkeeper Martin Dubravka in the recent draw against Burnley.
Midtjylland's boss, Mike Tullberg, was proud of his team's victory and described the atmosphere at the City Ground as "amazing". "We played an incredible team from England and the guys did very well," he said. "The home crowd was fantastic at the start of the game. To be in this atmosphere was amazing. Really, glad for us, a great win and hope Forest get their goals for the season".
Postecoglou remains focused on the challenge ahead and is determined to guide Nottingham Forest back to what he believes is "its rightful place" in English football. "I'm honoured and I'm humbled, but more importantly I'm determined to make sure this football club takes its rightful place,” he stated.
