Ange Postecoglou's brief tenure at Nottingham Forest is unravelling after a winless start that has seen fans call for his sacking within 23 days. The Australian became the first Forest head coach in a century to fail to win any of his first six matches, and a defeat at Newcastle on Sunday could cost him his job. The poisonous atmosphere at the City Ground was evident on Thursday as the team lost to Midtjylland, with supporters voicing their displeasure loudly.
The contrast with predecessor Nuno Espírito Santo is stark. Nuno won his first two games after replacing Steve Cooper, quickly winning over fans with victories at Newcastle and at home to Manchester United. Although his tenure later featured a rocky patch, including just one win in ten league matches, the early momentum bought him time. Postecoglou has been afforded no such grace, with a demanding schedule of four away games to start and a style of play that is a polar opposite to Nuno's finely tuned approach.
There were mitigating factors in the loss to Sunderland, including a generous free-kick decision and poor finishing despite Forest registering 22 shots. But the underlying problems are deeper. The robust defensive unit built by Nuno has been dismantled, and Forest are still awaiting their first clean sheet. Set-piece weakness was exposed against Midtjylland, who scored twice from such situations, while the other goal came from a counterattack – a recurring issue during Postecoglou's time at Tottenham.
Owner Evangelos Marinakis appointed Postecoglou with his heart, partly due to the Greek connection and the manager's Europa League pedigree. However, with upcoming trips to Newcastle and Bournemouth sandwiching a home game against Chelsea, the outlook is bleak. Removing Postecoglou would be an admission of two dreadful decisions – dismissing Nuno and selecting his replacement. But unless results improve quickly, the popularity contest that football often is seems destined to end in another sacking.
