Ange Postecoglou has made history at Nottingham Forest, but not the kind that the Australian coach was hoping for. The former Tottenham manager has failed to win any of his opening six games as Reds boss, since being appointed as successor to Nuno Espirito Santo. His latest setback came in a Europa League clash with Midtjylland, with fans at the City Ground airing their anger before the final whistle blew on Trentside.
GettyForest fans turning on Postecoglou already
Forest headed into their first European fixture on home soil in 29 years hoping to savour an occasion to remember. It quickly became one to forget as the issues which have plagued Postecoglou’s short spell in the dugout came back to haunt Forest once more. The opening goal of the game arrived in the 18th minute as Midtjylland bundled home from a free-kick.
Dan Ndoye briefly restored parity for the hosts, but they fell behind again less than two minutes after equalising – with another set-piece proving to be their undoing. Midtjylland grabbed a third late on, ensuring that a stoppage-time penalty from Chris Wood was little more than a consolation strike.
AdvertisementPostecoglou's record at Forest makes for uncomfortable reading
A 3-2 defeat against Danish opposition means that Postecoglou, who took the Forest reins on September 9, is still waiting on his first win in a demanding role. He opened with a 3-0 defeat at Arsenal in the Premier League. His side then threw away a two-goal lead to exit the Carabao Cup in dramatic fashion at Swansea. A point was picked up in a 1-1 draw at Burnley, with another secured in Forest’s opening Europa League game against Real Betis.
Failure to defend set-pieces contributed to a 1-0 loss being suffered against Sunderland, in Postecoglou’s first game at the City Ground, before Midtjylland rubbed further salt into the wounds as the mood in the red half of Nottingham turned sour.
History made by Postecoglou after winless start at Forest
Postecoglou’s disastrous start to his tenure has seen him become the first permanent Forest manager for 100 years to fail to win any of his first six games in charge of the club. The last man to endure such a woeful opening was John Baynes, who went winless through seven games between August and September 1925.
Postecoglou was subjected to chants of "You’re getting sacked in the morning" from his own fans as the City Ground made its feelings clear against Midtjylland. Home supporters also sang about former boss Nuno, who is now back in Premier League management with West Ham.
Responding to taunts from those that are supposed to be on his side, Postecoglou told reporters afterwards: "The fans are disappointed, they're entitled to have an opinion on it and I heard their opinion. Nothing surprises me anymore in football. I guess it's just the climate we're in and it seems that's the way we're going. But look, that's something I can control. My responsibility lies to make sure that we try and get some wins for this football club and progress it.
"I get the mood around the place isn't going to be great, I understand people's kind of attitude at the moment, particularly towards me, but I never worry about that. It's not unfamiliar territory for me. I really believe that we're on the right track and when we get through this period of uncertainty we'll be on a good path. I still think apart from their attitude towards me that they were behind the team and I think that's the important thing. Of course, I would prefer people are optimistic. If we start winning games of football, the atmosphere will change."
Failure to keep clean sheets is hurting Forest
Postecoglou added on familiar failings contributing to Forest finding positive results hard to come by, with defensive mistakes doing the collective cause few favours: "It was a pretty similar target to be honest, it was just us letting ourselves down in the key moments and then having a mountain to climb. I guess it's the accumulation of things, just the manner. It's not like the goalkeeper is having to make multiple saves. It's something we need to try to unlock in terms of just appreciating the key moments in a game and making sure that we're fully focused on those. If you allow the opposition to score, just a matter of time they get the goal, it's going to be very hard to win games of football."
Forest have conceded 13 goals through their six games under Postecoglou. They have failed to keep a clean sheet since beating Manchester United 1-0 in April – despite Matz Sels claiming a share of the Premier League Golden Glove last season – and will head into the next international break on the back of a trip to Newcastle on Sunday.