ANGE POSTECOGLOU is clinging to his job at Nottingham Forest as he confirmed he’ll have talks with Evangelos Marinakis over his future.
Though the bullish Aussie – only appointed 26 days ago – still claims he’s up the “fight” despite failing to win any of his first seven games in charge.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Postecoglou appeared to take a swipe at the broadcaster.
The former Tottenham boss said: “It’s alright, where it always is, it is a struggle, it is a fight, it is what we do.
“It does not worry me, that is why I love what I do.
“I could have been sitting on the couch, watching you guys, depending who’s on, probably on mute.”
Marinakis wasn’t at St. James’ to witness the latest setback but Postecoglou revealed he plans to speak with the no-nonsense Forest owner.
He said: “I expect to have a discussion with the owner and everyone at the football club about what we have embarked on here and where we’re at and what we need to do, for sure, yes.
“If people want to make an assessment on me after three and a half weeks, there is nothing I can do about that. At the same time, there is nothing wrong with things being tough – it’s OK! “I had an option – I could have been sitting on a couch watching the game today and not been in the middle of it. I would much rather be here. I love a fight.
“So what if it’s a fight, if it’s a struggle. It’s OK. If people outside don’t think I’m the right person – or even internally don’t think that – it makes no difference to me.
“I took this role knowing it would be a massive challenge in terms of what we’re trying to do and changing the direction of the club. Nothing I have seen in the last three and a half weeks has changed my view on that.
“I love the challenge of taking this club to where it needs to be. I’m very confident we’ll get there.”
Postecoglou had little interaction on the pitch after the final whistle as he stood alone applauding the away supporters – but he “couldn’t care less” about how that looked.
He said: “If you want to find things, for sure! Look, I wore a different jacket today too! Don’t read into things, seriously.
“It’s a fun game, isn’t it? It’s me this week and who knows, maybe you’re all right and I’m gone. Next week it will be someone else and there’s a lot of fun around it. I don’t care!
“I love the position I’m in right now where I have to fight for everything. It’s what I’ve done my whole career.
“I’m not a worries-me kind of guy, mate – I couldn’t care less. If people think I’m somehow not enjoying what I’m doing, they’ve got no idea what I’m like.”
And he delivered another spicy response when quizzed whether he was still confident that he could turn things round and claimed he’s enjoying life more than ever.
Postecoglou added: “No! No, it’s a lost cause. I mean, seriously, what’s wrong with something being hard, seriously? What’s wrong with it? Why do we want everything delivered nicely packaged?
“I’m sure your parents had a struggle in their life and they didn’t give up.
You may have even been a lost cause at some point. They didn’t give up on you right?
“What I’m saying is – I’m not having a go at you, please don’t take it the wrong way – it seems to be these days as soon as something goes wrong, we go, ‘That’s it, it’s wrong, we’ll change it, break it up.
‘UNFAMILIAR TERRITORY’
“Everything that needs kind of, something fixed, is invariably going to go through a tough time.
“This is unfamiliar territory for me, as I said, so beyond it being a lost cause, I see it as a great opportunity. That’s why I took the role. I still believe that now, more so than ever before but at the same time, you’ve got to embrace there’s going to be a fight and a struggle for it. That’s my point, because it’s tough.
“Do you think I’d be sitting here at the age of 60? I started in Australia when I was 32 years old in semi-professional football. I’m here in the Premier League at the age of 60. Do you reckon I lack self belief or I don’t like a fight?
“I didn’t get here because of my connections. In fact I’ve picked fights. Even in the school yard I picked fights with people who I knew would beat me up. That’s the kind of person I am. That’s fine.
“I totally understand it’s kind of part of the fanfare around the Premier League that there needs to be a manager who is always under the spotlight. I get that. It’s my turn. Like most other managers, we actually enjoy this bit.
“I’d be surprised if there are many managers that don’t enjoy having the kind of challenge on their hands that I have at the moment.”
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