Ange Postecoglou under pressure to keep job at Nottingham Forest, replacements, record

Ange Postecoglou has been called a “dead man walking” ahead of this weekend’s crunch game against Chelsea, with the Australian precariously holding onto his position at Nottingham Forest.

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Postecoglou was hired to replace Nuno Espirito Santo last month but a winless start in seven games to open his reign immediately has the former Tottenham boss under pressure and not getting much support from his new fan base either.

In fact, Forest’s fans have largely been turning against Postecoglou in recent weeks and another loss to Chelsea could prove a breaking point for the Australian.

The Daily Mail reported ahead of Sunday morning’s game that while Postecoglou will remain in charge, he is “on thin ice” and “may need a spectacular turnaround” to save his job.

To that effect, the Daily Mail added that Forest has already started sounding out managers to replace Postecoglou should a change be urgently needed, with candidates “who favour a more pragmatic game” likely to find themselves near the top of the list.

Postecoglou has tried to be more pragmatic in recent games, taking on a defensive-minded approach against Newcastle which looked to be working for the first 60 minutes or so before Forest fell away late.

Considering Postecoglou’s background and the time he typically needs to implement his new system, The Athleltic’s Paul Taylor, who covers Forest, wrote it is “hard not to feel a little sympathy” for the Australian.

“Forest will have known what they were getting when they turned to him. His appointment did not just represent a change in the dugout, but a substantial change, full stop,” he added.

“Postecoglou’s ethos was always going to be a world away from what it had been under Nuno. Forest went from a man who built his foundations on a bedrock of discipline and organisation, to one who favours a brand of attacking football that thrives on risk.

“Forest’s players have been asked to adjust to an approach from the opposite end of the spectrum, all within a demanding run of seven games in 22 days — five of which were away fixtures. There have been positive signs: periods in games where Forest have played outstanding football. They could easily have won three, if not four, of those matches. But they didn’t.”

And that, of course, is the problem for Postecoglou. Even if there are signs of improvement, the bottom line is that the results have not been there and given Postecoglou is the eighth permanent manager at Forest since Evangelos Marinakis took over as owner, it doesn’t seem like there is much scope for patience.

It also sounds like all the external noise isn’t exactly helping the playing group, with sources close to the squad telling Taylor that the players “do not know what to expect with regards to Postecoglou’s future” and that there is a “mood of uncertainty”.

Only complicating matters is the fact the squad was “close” to previous manager Nuno, according to Taylor. While that does not mean they are against Postecoglou, it speaks to the emotional toll his exit would have had, particularly given the playing group didn’t have much time to process it.

Now they may have to come to terms with another manager being forced out the door, with Roy Keane declaring Postecoglou is a “dead man walking” ahead of the Chelsea fixture.

Taylor, meanwhile, wrote that the “feeling” is that the Chelsea game, “our the outcome of it”, could have a “decisive” impact on Postecoglou’s future at the club and that one word — outcome — again speaks volumes to the fact that wins are all that can save the Australian.

But even still, Marinakis himself is a wildcard.

“Ultimately, it will be down to the mood of Marinakis,” Taylor reported, adding that the Forest owner has been “pondering his options”.

“That is not unusual — the Greek shipping magnate always likes to have a plan B in place. Historically, he normally knows who he wants to appoint — or even has a replacement in place — before deciding to make a change.

“Having options does not always mean Marinakis will utilise them, but he has been seeking the counsel of those close to him to gauge the mood of supporters and of the dressing room.”

As for what direction he could go in if Forest makes a change, Taylor reported that sources “with an understanding of how Marinakis works”, believe he would target a manager with “established Premier League experience”.

Sean Dyche and Marco Silva are two names that have commonly come up in reporting.

With Postecoglou’s future potentially hinging on the “mood” of Marinakis, you have to wonder what sort of impact Forest’s fans will play considering the tense atmosphere they have created in recent home games as they turned on the Australian.

“He had to hit the ground running because a lot of fans weren’t happy when Ange Postecoglou was given the job but give the guy a chance,” former Forest defender Michael Dawson told Sky Sports.

“He’s had a bad start, we understand that, and the longer this run goes the more scrutiny he’ll come under but he won’t shirk away from the challenge.”

Ex-Celtic forward Chris Sutton, meanwhile, labelled Forest’s supporters “entitled” and described their treatment of Postecoglou as “absolutely shocking”.

“This has got under my skin a little bit, the treatment of Ange Postecoglou from Nottingham Forest fans,” he told BBC.

“I think that’s been absolutely shocking. Singing for their own manager to be sacked after six games. I mean, they’re better than that, aren’t they?

“When you look back to last season - I had a little look - they won two out of the last nine Premier League games. This has sort of been festering for a while. But to take it out on the manager, I’ve never known anything like it.”

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said on Sky Sports that he believes Postecoglou will get to the next international break on November 10th, which is something Australian football great Michael Bosnich agrees with.

But Bosnich fears with the way the fan base has grown impatient with Postecoglou, the fact he has three home games to work with may not actually help him in the end.

“I think that he can turn this around,” Bosnich said on SEN 1170 Mornings.

“He really just needs to get down to bare basics with the whole team, get them in the dressing room and say we need dynamic transparency.

“We’re going to be like a family here… forget about weaknesses, let’s talk about our strengths… we’re gonna come up now with a way of playing that is gonna accentuate those strengths to the highest level possible.

“They need to go for it… Chelsea at home, then they’ve got Porto at home in Europa League… then they’ve got Manchester United at home, so there’s three home games.

“I would normally say that’s an advantage, but right now with the way the fans are with him, I’m not so sure that’s the case.”

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