That decision to continue may be taken out of his hands, with the Australian enduring a historically disastrous start to his reign on Trentside. After being appointed as successor to Nuno Espirito Santo on September 9, Postecoglou is yet to oversee a morale-boosting victory. Just one point has been picked up across four Premier League fixtures – with Forest’s latest top-flight setback coming at the hands of Newcastle.
Postecoglou also saw his side surrender a two-goal lead to crash out of the Carabao Cup in dramatic fashion at the hands of Championship side Swansea, while also going down 3-2 to Danish side Midtjylland in Forest’s first European game on home soil in 29 years. He was subjected to chants of “You’re getting sacked in the morning” from his own fans during that continental fixture.
There was little sign of improvement at St James’ Park, despite the hosts taking 58 minutes to break the deadlock, with Postecoglou left cutting a frustrated figure on the sidelines. Despite spending just a month in his current role, it is becoming increasingly difficult to see how he can turn things around.
Forest owner Marinakis is a demanding character, with the Greek shipping magnate having invested heavily in a bid to make the Reds competitive at home and abroad. He will be aware of what supporters are saying, with another face-to-face meeting with Postecoglou being lined up.
Quizzed on whether those talks will be taking place, Postecoglou told reporters: “I expect to have a discussion with the owner and everyone else at the club about what we’ve embarked on here, where we’re at and what we need to do, for sure. If people want to make an assessment of me after three-and-a-half weeks and seven games, there’s nothing I can do about that.
“At the same time, there’s nothing wrong with things being tough. That’s OK. I did have an option. I could have been sitting on the couch watching the game today and not being in the middle of it. I’d rather be here; much rather be here. I love a fight. So it’s a fight, it’s a struggle? So what? That’s OK.
“If people outside, or even internally, don’t think I’m the right person, it makes no difference to me. I took this role on knowing it would be a massive challenge with what we are trying to do in terms of changing the direction of the club. Nothing I have seen has changed my view on that. I love the challenge of taking this club to where it needs to be. I’m very confident we’ll get there.”
Postecoglou bit back with when being pressed again on the supposed threat to his position at the City Ground: “Seriously, what’s wrong with something being hard? What’s wrong with that? Why do we want everything delivered nicely packaged? I’m sure your parents had a struggle in their life and they didn’t give up. You might even have been a lost cause at some point, but they didn’t give up on you.
“It seems these days as soon as something goes wrong, it’s right, that’s it, it’s wrong, we’ll change it. Everything that needs something fixed is invariably going to go through a tough time. I see it being an exciting opportunity. That’s why I took the role. I still believe that now, more so than ever before. At the same time, you’ve got to embrace there’s going to be a fight and a struggle for it.
“I’m here in the Premier League at the age of 60, you reckon I lack self-belief or don’t like a fight? I didn’t get here because of my connections. In fact, I’ve picked fights. I have. In the schoolyard, I’ve picked fights with people I knew would beat me up. That’s the kind of person I am. I totally understand it’s part of the fanfare around the Premier League that there needs to be a manager under the spotlight. It’s my turn at the moment. But like most managers, we enjoy having a challenge on our hands.”
Things are not about to get any easier for Forest, who sit 17th in the Premier League table, with the Reds set to return to action after the latest international break with a run of games against Chelsea, Porto, Bournemouth and Manchester United.
