Ange Postecoglou sends defiant message to Nottingham Forest fans after Newcastle defeat

Ange Postecoglou has gone seven games without picking up a win with Nottingham Forest (Picture: Getty)

A defiant Ange Postecoglou says he ‘still believes’ he is the right manager to lead Nottingham Forest following the side’s 2-0 loss to Newcastle.

The ex-Tottenham and Celtic boss finds himself under intense scrutiny after failing to pick up a win in his opening seven matches with Forest since taking over the reins from Nuno Espirito Santo.

Arsenal consigned Forest to a comprehensive 3-0 defeat in Postecoglou’s first match in charge and the situation has gone from bad to worse in the intervening weeks.

Back-to-back losses in the Premier League and Europa League ramped up the pressure on Postecoglou ahead of the side’s trip to St James’ Park, with serious questions already being asked of the Australian’s future.

The 60-year-old faced a chorus of boos following the setback against Midtjylland in the week, with also fans heard chanting, ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning!’, at the City Ground.

But after some promising moments in a hard-fought first half, a pair of goals from Bruno Guimaraes and Nick Woltemade ensured Forest’s miserable run extended into the international break.

Should he maintain the backing of Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis, Postecoglou will be desperate for a morale-boosting victory when his team return to Premier League action at home to an in-form Chelsea in a fortnight’s time.

Guimaraes broke the deadlock with a stunner (Picture: Getty)

Woltemade put Newcastle out of sight from the penalty spot (Picture: Getty)

‘It’s always tough coming here with the crowd behind them and the atmosphere inside the stadium,’ Postecoglou told Sky Sports after Forest’s latest setback against Newcastle.

‘But I thought we handled it well for the most part and there were some big moments in the game that we didn’t capitalise on. You need to take those opportunities.

‘A couple of things went against us and we don’t get the outcome we wanted.

The ex-Spurs boss cut a frustrated figure on the touchline at St James’ Park (Picture: Getty)

‘They [Newcastle] obviously raised the tempo in the second half which happens.

‘I thought we really controlled the game well in the first half.

‘Even then, I thought we were defending well and we had a couple of really big moments at the other end where you have to take your chances and when you don’t in this kind of environment, the opposition will capitalise.’

Forest will look to regroup ahead of their clash with Chelsea in a fortnight (Picture: Getty)

Asked whether Forest’s winless streak had ‘surprised’ him, Postecoglou replied: ‘No, nothing surprises me in football.

‘Look, we’ve gone through this period where it’s three-and-a-half weeks since I’ve come in and things haven’t gone the way that everyone would have loved.

‘But it doesn’t deter me at all. What I believed when I first got the opportunity to take the role, I still believe now.

‘I still believe we’ve got a great opportunity to do great things. We’ve got a couple of weeks of work now with some of the lads in the international break and we’ll turn our fortunes around.’

The club sit 17th in the table following the defeat (Picture: Getty)

The defeat leaves Forest languishing down in 17th place in the Premier League table, just one point above the relegation zone.

While admitting that his start at Forest had been a ‘struggle’, Postecoglou remains laser-focussed on the task at hand.

‘[My motivation] is where it always is,’ he continued.

‘It’s alright. It’s a struggle, it’s a fight and there’s nothing wrong with that. It doesn’t worry me, that’s why I love what I do.

‘I could have been sitting on the couch watching you guys, but I prefer to be right in the middle of it where I can have an impact and I believe I will.’

Postecoglou is looking forward to getting back on the training ground to work with the likes of Douglas Luiz, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Murillo, who were all missing against Newcastle.

‘It’s a chance to do some training with the lads,’ he said of the upcoming international break.

‘I’ve obviously only been here three-and-a-half weeks and we haven’t had a lot of training.

‘We’ve got a few that are going to be back with us and there some that we need to do some work with: Douglas Luiz, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Murillo haven’t played too much so far so it will be a chance to work with them.’