Ange Postecoglou enters director discussions intent on retaining position at City Ground club
Ange Postecoglou is determined to convince Nottingham Forest’s board to retain faith in his managerial philosophy when he meets with the club’s owner Evangelos Marinakis in coming days.
Defiant Forest boss detects positive indicators amid poor results
The Australian was in defiant, almost jocular form after Sunday’s 2-0 defeat at Newcastle. It extended his winless streak to seven games since he succeeded Nuno Espírito Santo recently. Yet Postecoglou, who surprisingly started with a five-man defense, detected signs of improvement as he prepares for vital talks with club officials.
"Yes, this is hopeless," he said, with irony. "I see it as an exciting opportunity. You have to be up for the battle and the struggle. It would be foolish to be in this position at the age of 60 if I was without self-belief or determination. Back in the schoolyard I picked fights with people that beat me up."
Top flight pantomime lightly criticized
Warming to his theme, Postecoglou lightly teased the pantomime of Premier League football that almost demands that at least one manager is always deemed 'under pressure'. "I get that it’s part of the fanfare of the Premier League that it needs a coach to be in the limelight. If people want to evaluate my work less than a month into the job, there's nothing I can say or do that will alter that perception."
"However my observations and felt in this timeframe is that we are heading in the path I desire us to. Positive outcomes will arrive. In the meantime it is a battle and a contest and there is nothing wrong with that. Life doesn't give things provided easily on a plate in existence, we have to fight. I've struggled for things all my life. Why does everyone want everything neatly packaged? The attitude today appears that, as soon as something goes wrong, you replace it."
Accepting the challenge at Nottingham Forest
Amid much hilarity, he suggested that a journalist might have been "a lost cause at some point but your parents persevered on you."
Postecoglou then restated that he had joined the Nottingham Forest with his eyes wide open and always recognized that his attempt to alter Forest’s playing style would not be easy. "I knew this was a significant test," he said. "There's nothing wrong with that. I'm unsure why people think challenges are a problem, I enjoy a test. The other option is staying home watching games and I don't want to do that. Should journalists have great enjoyment about this situation I don't care. It doesn't bother me."
