Nottingham Forest Captain Ryan Yates has spoken out following the abrupt dismissal of manager Ange Postecoglou, emphasizing the need for the team to take responsibility and find a path forward. Postecoglou's tenure ended just 39 days after his appointment, making it the shortest managerial reign of any permanent Premier League boss to leave a club mid-season. The decision to sack Postecoglou came swiftly after Forest's 3-0 defeat to Chelsea at the City Ground on Saturday.

Yates admitted that he was "a little bit shocked" by the dismissal, which occurred shortly after the final whistle. The speed of the decision caught the players off guard, as Postecoglou was sacked before he could fulfill his post-match media duties. He addressed the team after the game, and Yates learned of his departure after going out for a run.

"We're all extremely disappointed with how recent results are going," Yates told the BBC. "It's down to us individually to look at ourselves in the mirror and do everything we can to turn it around." He acknowledged that the team's performances have not been good enough and that the players must take "massive responsibility". "Collectively as a group, we have to do more," he added. "We have to get on the training pitch, look for the 1%, the fine margins. We owe it to the fans to put in a good performance on Thursday."

Postecoglou's time at Nottingham Forest was challenging, with the team failing to win any of his eight matches in charge across all competitions. This included being knocked out of the EFL Cup by Swansea City and drawing and losing their first two Europa League matches. Following Saturday's results, Forest have slipped into the relegation zone, sitting 18th with five points after eight games.

Yates revealed that Postecoglou was "extremely disappointed" after the game. "When you're having such bad results, it's never a massive surprise," Yates said. "It's disappointing for us as players. We can do more, we can do better. We need to dust ourselves down really quickly. Whatever steps the club take, we need to be fully behind it."

Looking ahead, Yates urged his teammates to move on quickly and focus on their upcoming matches. "Things in football can change really quickly," Yates told BBC Radio. "With a good result on Thursday night (against Porto in the Europa League), we can get that good feeling back, and we kick in." Forest will face FC Porto in the Europa League at the City Ground on Thursday night.

Yates emphasized the importance of the players giving everything on the field and supporting the club's decisions moving forward. "We back the club, whatever steps they make moving forwards," he said. "We know we have the belief and the quality to turn it round. It's down to us as players to give everything."