“I’m sorry to say, but he can no longer work under me at Nottingham Forest”- Ange breaks £23M forgotten Forest star’s heart and tells him to look for a new club by January- It’s the End
Nottingham Forest were stunned by Swansea City in the Carabao Cup.
Ange Postecoglou’s side were so impressive in the first half and the new signings were really catching the eye.
Douglas Luiz was running the midfield, and Dilane Bakwa, a £30m deadline day arrival from RC Strasbourg, looked class too.
However, the Swans fought back with a goal in the 67th minute before netting two in stoppage time to win 3-2.
Speaking post-match, Postecoglou explained exactly what went wrong.
Ange Postecoglou says Nottingham Forest weren’t clinical enough
Postecoglou pushed back on the Sky Sports reporter’s suggestion that the defeat was down to poor defending from set-pieces.
The Forest boss was insistent that it was due to a lack of a clinical edge, as they had more than enough chances.
“I just thought it was a game we really should have killed off long before it got to the stage that it did,” Postecoglou said.
“I got the sense we were getting a bit comfortable and thought the game would finish off easily but that’s not what happens, particularly in cup football. I thought we scored a good third goal.
“I think the lads got a bit comfortable in that moment and you’ve got to know the warning signs. We had to finish them off and we had plenty of opportunities to do that, and a couple of decisions didn’t go our way.
“Players just thought it would naturally finish that way and we’ve paid a heavy price for that. We need to improve.”
Pressure to beat Burnley now
Many were pretty understanding of the Arsenal defeat, considering Postecoglou was only in the job a couple of days.
However, tonight’s defeat just wasn’t acceptable, and it now feels like this weekend’s Premier League clash against Burnley is a must-win.
Getting that first victory will be massive for Postecoglou in building a rapport with Forest supporters, and he’ll know that.
The Australian head coach appeared to point at himself when going over to the away fans at Swansea, suggesting the result was on him.
So he knows just how important it is to put right that second-half performance in South Wales.
