ANGE POSTECOGLOU could be set to land his first title at Nottingham Forest – by being crowned “the worst manager of all-time”.
The under-pressure Aussie, 60, confirmed he expects to hold talks with owner Evangelos Marinakis this week as he clings to his job at the City Ground.
The confident Aussie always promises his employers silverware within two years, however, he may get this accolade a lot quicker.
Sunday’s 2-0 defeat at Newcastle was the ex-Tottenham manager’s fifth from seven in charge at Forest.
Winless Postecoglou is the bookies’ favourite to be the next top-flight boss sacked despite being in the job for just 27 days.
His own fans subjected him to chants of “you’re getting sacked in the morning” during Thursday’s 3-2 Europa League defeat to Midtjylland and there were similar taunts from the stands at St James’ Park.
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While he anxiously waits to talk with no-nonsense Marinakis, he stands on the brink of breaking an unwanted record.
Les Reed is the current holder for shortest managerial reign in the Premier League era.
And after his 41-day stint in charge of Charlton Athletic in 2006 he was voted as “the worst football manager of all time” in the Prem era as he picked up just four points from seven league matches.
There were also honorable mentions for Rene Meulensteen’s 75 days in charge of Fulham in 2014 and Frank de Boer’s five-game, 77-day spell with Crystal Palace in 2017.
However, Postecoglou will become the new holder of that unofficial moniker if he fails to survive the international break.
The bullish coach remained adamant he was still the right man for the job after his latest setback but did confirm plans to speak with his employer.
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.”
Pressed on whether he still had the belief he could turn things around, he 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.
‘Nuno to Ange like reversing polarity of the planet’ – Martin Lipton
By Martin Lipton
IF the Nottingham Forest players are still feeling dizzy, you wouldn’t blame them.
They have spent the last 21 months playing risk-averse, counter-attack Nuno-ball.
Suddenly, overnight, they have now discovered the approach is defence-averse, “it’s who we are mate”, Ange-ball.
It feels like the footballing equivalent of reversing the polarity of the planet.
A total culture and attitude shift in the space of a few hours.
And given so much of Forest’s success is down to the strategy deployed by Nuno Espirito Santo, who galvanised his players into believing they added up to far more than the sum of their collective parts, even Evangelos Marinakis might accept it’s a roll of the dice.
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“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.
“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.
“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.
“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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