Postecoglou Faces Make-or-Break Meeting Over Nottingham Forest Future

‎Ange Postecoglou is set to meet Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis this week, hoping to persuade the board to stand by his managerial philosophy.

‎The Australian remains confident in his approach despite mounting pressure. His defiant and even light-hearted demeanour after Sunday’s 2-0 loss to Newcastle reflected that belief.

‎The defeat extended his winless streak to seven matches since replacing Nuno Espírito Santo last month.

‎Yet Postecoglou, who unusually started with a back five, detected signs of progress as he prepared for vital talks with directors to discuss the future.

‎“Yes, it’s a lost cause,” he said, sarcastically.

‎“I see it as an exciting opportunity. You have to be up for the fight and the struggle. I’d be silly to be sitting here at the age of 60 if I lacked self-belief or fight. Even in the schoolyard, I picked fights with people who beat me up.”

‎Warming to his theme, Postecoglou gently mocked 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 one manager to be in the spotlight. If people want to assess me three and a half weeks into the job, there’s nothing I can say or do that will change that.

‎“But what I have seen and felt in this period is that we are heading in the direction I want us to. The results will come. In the meantime, it is a struggle and a fight, and there is nothing wrong with that.

‎”We don’t have things handed to us on a plate in life, we have to fight. I have fought for things all my life. Why does everyone want everything neatly packaged? The attitude today seems to be that as soon as something goes wrong, you change it.”

‎Amid much hilarity, he suggested that one reporter might have been “a lost cause at some point but your parents didn’t give up on you”.

‎Postecoglou explained that he entered the City Ground fully aware of the challenge, and that changing Forest’s playing style would not be easy from the outset.

‎“I knew this was a big challenge,” he said.

‎“There’s nothing wrong with that. I don’t know why people think challenges are a burden, I love a challenge. The alternative is sitting at home watching games and I don’t want to do that. If you guys have a lot of fun around it, I don’t care. I couldn’t care less.”