{"id":220991,"date":"2025-10-17T20:06:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T20:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/220991\/"},"modified":"2025-10-17T20:06:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T20:06:08","slug":"ange-postecoglou-hits-back-at-nottingham-forest-critics-in-extraordinary-press-conference-video-record-tottenham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/220991\/","title":{"rendered":"Ange Postecoglou hits back at Nottingham Forest critics in extraordinary press conference, video, record, Tottenham"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ange Postecoglou came out swinging in an extraordinary press conference that saw the Australian reiterate that if he is given time at a club it always ends \u201cwith me and a trophy\u201d as he fights to save his job at Nottingham Forest<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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The Australian, whose team host Chelsea on Saturday, has failed to win any of his first seven games since taking charge at Forest last month.<\/p>\n

The two-time European champions, who finished seventh last year under former boss Nuno Espirito Santo, are languishing 17th in the Premier League, just one point above the relegation zone.<\/p>\n

Former Celtic and Tottenham boss Postecoglou has already faced calls from fans for his sacking, but has so far retained the support of Forest\u2019s hierarchy.<\/p>\n

With questions swirling over his future despite just five weeks in the job, he is confident that his story at Forest will end in the same way as his previous jobs: with a trophy.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Read on for a full transcript of Postecoglou\u2019s passionate press conference.<\/p>\n

Question: How important is it to get a win on Saturday?<\/p>\n

Postecoglou: \u201cIt\u2019s always important to win the next game irrespective of what\u2019s happened previously. It\u2019s no different tomorrow.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re facing a very good opponent but we\u2019re here at home which is good and looking forward to the challenge of it. A good couple of weeks training with the guys who were with us here. We had a few on international duty but they came back in good condition and ready to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Question: Did the talks with Marinakis happen during the break?<\/p>\n

Postecoglou: \u201cNo. We are just getting on with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Question: Does Chelsea feel like a big game because of the noise and the pressure?<\/p>\n

Postecoglou: \u201cI guess from my perspective, I just don\u2019t fit. Not [talking about] here. Just in general.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at it through the prism of: I\u2019m a failed manager who is lucky to get this job \u2014 I know you\u2019re smirking at me and that\u2019s what\u2019s being said and I can find the print where that\u2019s being said \u2014 then of course it looks like this manager is under pressure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is an alternative story. I came to the Premier League two years ago, I took over Tottenham \u2014 \u2018Spursy Tottenham\u2019. I was told by the chairman at the time: \u2018This club has to win a trophy. We\u2019ve tried to bring winners in, Jose [Mourinho] and Antonio [Conte] and it hasn\u2019t worked, we need something different.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI was slightly offended by that as I see myself as a winner. I took over Spurs who finished eighth. No European football. Massive club who can\u2019t have two years without European football. We finished fifth in my first year. And every time Harry Kane scores a goal, I wish he\u2019d just stayed one more year. It would have been handy to have him after finishing fifth.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut somehow that year has disappeared from the record books. In fact it was used as a reason for me losing my job because even Tottenham decided to exclude the first 10 games because they were an anomaly apparently. Although the first 10 games here are very important apparently.<\/p>\n

Ange Postecoglou holds aloft the Europa League trophy. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS \/ AFP)Source: AFP<\/p>\n

\u201cWe finished fifth, I got them back into European football where Tottenham should be. I was in meetings and people still at that club were in those meetings where I was told winning a trophy is everything for a football club. That\u2019s fine.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe win a trophy. We shed the tag of being \u2018Spursy\u2019. It\u2019s Champions League football which brings some rewards, the opportunity to bring in better players. But all I\u2019ve heard since I finished at Tottenham is I finished 17th last year. So if you look at it from that prism of we finished 17th, then yeah, I\u2019m a failed manager who is lucky to get another opportunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut if I have to explain why we finished 17th, it doesn\u2019t have to be too in-depth. Just look at the last five or six different team sheets in the league last year to see who I prioritised, who was on the bench and who I was playing. The last game against Brighton, the players were out for two days partying \u2014 which I sanctioned because I felt they deserved to.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we finished 17th, if people think that\u2019s a reflection of me and my coaching, then people are looking at it through the prism of: I just don\u2019t fit.<\/p>\n

Sergio Reguilon and James Maddison hold up a banner of Ange Postecoglou. (Photo by Alex Pantling – UEFA\/UEFA via Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we get to the current space where there\u2019s a different story to tell that maybe I\u2019m maybe not a failed manager who was lucky to get this job \u2014 but maybe I\u2019m a manager where if given time, the story always ends the same. At all my previous clubs it ends the same: me with a trophy.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo just to finish up \u2014 and it\u2019s a longwinded answer which probably won\u2019t get any coverage but that\u2019s okay \u2014 you can look at these first five weeks and say \u2018he is under pressure because he was lucky to get this job\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cOr you can look at it and say there has been a major change. I am trying to change the way we play. The players are adapting but there\u2019s been inconsistency in there for sure. But some will look at the weeds, I will look at what\u2019s growing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe flip side is I\u2019m really still excited about the opportunity here. That\u2019s how I\u2019m embracing it. I have a group of young players who are willing to change, that\u2019s the first thing. I\u2019m heading down that road.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe rest of it? I\u2019m not going to waste my time or my energy worrying about that. Whether it\u2019s internal or external I couldn\u2019t care less. At the end of the day, I will do what I think is the right thing to do to bring success to this football club and that\u2019s what I\u2019m focused on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Question: Are you under pressure?<\/p>\n

Postecoglou: \u201cOf course there\u2019s pressure. There\u2019s pressure anyway. So if we win on the weekend, the pressure is there. There\u2019s always pressure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a difference between pressure and saying that somebody should lose their job after five weeks. I mean, I only just found an apartment to move into, which may be a bad decision on my behalf.<\/p>\n

\u201cI should have stayed in temporary digs. That\u2019s how early it is. So there\u2019s a difference.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe haven\u2019t won a game and I\u2019m as disappointed as anyone. No one likes not winning games of football. But within that context, if you look at those games and suggest to me that we were in a position to win any of those, then that\u2019s a different story as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pressure\u2019s there, it\u2019s always there. Pressure is part of managing at this level. And we\u2019re all judged by our results. And at the moment, the results are suggesting I\u2019m not doing a good job.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a far cry from people saying I should lose my job. Or speculating I should lose my job after five weeks. That\u2019s a different end of the spectrum. But when you\u2019re coming in this early on someone like me, as I said, you\u2019re looking at it through the prism that I\u2019m really fortunate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Postecoglou is under pressure at Forest. (Photo by George Wood\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n

Question: Are you frustrated about the noise?<\/p>\n

Postecoglou: \u201cI\u2019m not frustrated. I guess from my perspective, I don\u2019t know how to address it. I\u2019m not going to sit there and try and justify it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf people have already made up their minds after five weeks about it \u2014 particularly as I\u2019m not a newcomer, I have a history \u2014 how do I address that? Do I do what I did today, try and explain it? Maybe I\u2019m not great at PR around myself.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe I need to get people [rooting] for me. But again, I don\u2019t think that\u2019s the way to go. So it\u2019s not frustration.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just, like I said, I\u2019m not really sure how to address it other than just to try and emphasise the fact that it doesn\u2019t affect my day-to-day, what I\u2019m trying to achieve at this football club and the fact that I\u2019m really excited about the opportunity here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Question: Is the noise taking away from the game on Saturday?<\/p>\n

Postecoglou: \u201cYeah, it\u2019s not helpful. Again, it\u2019s just something we have to deal with and try and insulate the players from. As I said, they\u2019ve been great since I\u2019ve come in. We\u2019ve obviously changed a lot of things, the way we train, the way we play.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re seeing underlying improvement in that. Some of the physical metrics are getting closer, but we\u2019re still well off where we need to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the guys are getting to a physical base that they haven\u2019t been to before, which is great for us.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome other underlying metrics show that we\u2019re heading in the right direction in terms of style. The ultimate metric of winning a game is what\u2019s eluding us at the moment. I guess that encourages me that the players are not too distracted by what\u2019s going on.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I guess all that stuff is not helpful. I\u2019m sure they read the same stuff that everyone else does.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ange still winless for Forest | 01:53<\/p>\n

Question: How do you get the fans onside?<\/p>\n

Postecoglou: \u201cIt depends on the prism in which you work at. If people don\u2019t think I fit just because of who I am before I even started, they can\u2019t change that.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy feeling towards supporters has always been the same. They\u2019re allowed to express whatever opinion and emotion they need.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s always a caveat to it. They\u2019re allowed to change. Usually, results will change. So I don\u2019t take that stuff personally.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, I\u2019m sure there will be a supporter out there who\u2019s not desperate for us to win tomorrow, whether they like me or not. That\u2019s the key thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom my perspective, it\u2019s about trying to focus on that. Giving them something to be encouraged with, to get behind the team. It helps us play our own games.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t get the sense that supporters are not behind the team. I think they are. They can create a special atmosphere. Whatever sort of issues surrounding me or my appointment there may be, they can easily be overcome. Again, wins on the board .That\u2019s what we focus on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Question: Have you done anything different during the break?<\/p>\n

Postecoglou: \u201cI think [international breaks] are an opportunity to assess, reassess. Training was important, because we haven\u2019t had a lot of training time since we got here. We had less than four weeks from the moment I got appointed to the start of the next break, we had seven games, so we didn\u2019t have a lot of training time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe opportunity to have some training time with the guys that were here was important. Obviously there\u2019s no games, no press conferences, so it gives you a chance to sit down and reflect on what\u2019s been happening, even on a personal front, just do the things that normal human beings do. So from that point of view, it\u2019s been good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Postecoglou is yet to win a game with Forest. (Photo by Gareth Copley\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n

Question: What\u2019s the most difficult part of the job right now?<\/p>\n

Postecoglou: \u201cFirstly, it\u2019s to ignore everything that\u2019s going on, because it\u2019s of no concern to me, and I can\u2019t control it.<\/p>\n

\u201cAgain, I\u2019ve dealt with this in the last four months at Spurs, but every week I get questions about my future. Didn\u2019t stop me bring success to that club.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m pretty comfortable in embracing the challenges before me. I think the biggest thing for me is to make sure that we don\u2019t lose track of what we set out to do, part of that was change the way we play, use the kind of underlying metrics that we need to hit, from a physical perspective, from a football perspective.<\/p>\n

\u201cI firmly believe that if we do that, the results will come for us, and they\u2019ll come on a regular basis, and not try to look for some magical solution to change the current climate.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause as I said, if we win tomorrow, then it\u2019ll be about Thursday, and then if we win Thursday, it\u2019ll be about the next game, so that will always be the noise.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe narrative around me, again, I can\u2019t change. If people have seen the two years I\u2019ve been in the Premier League as somebody who needs to prove himself and fail, then I can\u2019t change that. If people have made up their minds, so be it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ange Postecoglou came out swinging in an extraordinary press conference that saw the Australian reiterate that if he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":220992,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,85],"class_list":["post-220991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-football","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=220991"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220991\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/220992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=220991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=220991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=220991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}