Pressure is mounting on Ange Postecoglou less than a month into his new role at Nottingham Forest and Sky Sports News has been told owner Evangelos Marinakis will not hesitate in removing the head coach if performances and results do not quickly improve.
Postecoglou has failed to win any of his first six matches in charge and it is clear another defeat and poor performance at Newcastle on Sunday – live on Sky Sports – could be crucial in seeing the current levels of patience wane within the Forest boardroom.
The international break could be vital for the 60-year-old’s future, especially considering he was brought in to replace Nuno Espirito Santo during the previous one in September.
However, Postecoglou retains the immediate support of the club’s hierarchy, who only want to focus on the pivotal game at St James’ Park.
Some Forest supporters chanted for Postecoglou to be sacked during the Europa League defeat to Midtjylland on Thursday – his fourth defeat since replacing Nuno, who was sacked after falling out with Marinakis.
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It is thought there is anger among the Forest hierarchy at the performance of referee Willy Delajod against Midtjylland and that has provided some mitigation in their assessment of how the team – and the head coach – performed.
But defeat at on Sunday would make Postecoglou the first permanent head coach since 1960 to fail to win any of his first four league games at the club.
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Sky Sports reporter Anton Toloui and journalist Adam Bate reflect on Nottingham Forest’s defeat to Midtjylland in the Europa League
Postecoglou is in a personal Premier League rut – he is winless in his last 10 games, taking into consideration his last seven matches at Tottenham before he was sacked at the end of last season.
If he were to leave during the international break, it is likely to break Alex McLeish’s 40-day tenure as Forest boss back in 2012, and Sam Allardyce’s record of 30 days at Leeds as the shortest Premier League reign.
Ange: Pressure doesn’t enter my head
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Nottingham Forest boss Ange Postecoglou responded to chants against him from his own supporters after they lost to Midtjylland in the Europa League
Postecoglou admitted earlier on Friday he cannot afford to “worry about what is going to happen next week”, instead focusing on trying to get his side out of its bad run of form.
“I get it [speculation about his future] and it is a valid assumption in modern football,” he said. “There is always a manager under pressure but I do not think that way.
“Put it this way, I knew I was getting sacked at Tottenham about three of four months before I did and it did not stop me winning something.
“It [pressure] does not enter my head. My responsibility lies in making sure this club progresses and gets to a position where it can challenge for things. If I start putting timelines to that, to start worrying about what is going to happen next week, then I am not going to be performing the role I was given and I just do not think it is helpful to anyone.
“At the end of the day, the things I control are the environment, the training, the way we play and, as I said last night, I am still very strong in my belief that we are not too far away.”
‘Only having six games wouldn’t sit right with me’
Jamie Redknapp on Sky Sports’ Premier League Show:
“It’s a bit crazy. He’s six games into his tenure. If it’s six months and they’re still performing like this and in a bad run, then I get it because that’s just the way football is. But six games doesn’t sit right with me.
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Jay Bothroyd had a fiery debate with a Nottingham Forest fan after manager Ange Postecoglou was goaded with ‘sacked in the morning’ chants
“At the end of last season, Nottingham Forest were really struggling. They were in a great position to get top four, but they finished poorly and they’ve started poorly [this season].
“When you try and bring in a different philosophy with a different manager… whatever you think about Nuno, they won games 1-0 and were difficult to beat, they sat back and counter-attacked brilliantly with pace on the break, and Chris Wood was in a purple patch.
“This season, they are going to change and he will want to play a different style of football, and that will take time.
“Every day in training, different sessions, getting used to it and more forward-thinking. His philosophy is completely different to Nuno’s.
“You have to give the players time to adapt and definitely more than six games. That doesn’t make sense to me.”
