Ange Postecoglou says Nottingham Forest will be playing his style of football within days after losing to Arsenal in his first game in charge.Â
The former Spurs boss was quickly appointed by the Midlands outfit after Nuno Espirito Santo was sacked as manager last week after falling out with the clubâs hierarchy.
Postecoglouâs open, possession-based tactics could not be more diametrically opposed to his predecessorâs more defensive approach to the game. But he promised that Forest will be exhibiting his principles as soon as Wednesday, when they face Swansea City in the League Cup.
âIt wonât be months, it wonât be weeks, itâll be Wednesday. This is not a project,â he said in his post-match press conference.
The Gunners dominated proceedings at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon as Martin Zubimendi found the net twice either side of Viktor Gyokeresâ third goal of the season.
Postecoglou had limited time with his new squad ahead of the game, overseeing just one training session before kickoff, but said he âcanât fault the ladsâ effortâ.
âThis week, itâs fair to say, was fairly disruptive for the players,â he told TNT Sports. âInternational week as well so they didnât get in until Thursday or Friday then with a new manager, Iâm trying to implement new things.
âSo itâs entirely understandable that they probably havenât got clarity of thought at the moment. But thatâs my job to try and embed that over the new few weeks and Iâm sure we will because there is a willing group of players to do that.â
On the job ahead of him, Postecoglou added: âIt hasnât been an ideal prep for the players and you have to take that into account. All you can ask for is effort and unfortunately, against a very good opponent, today was a bridge too far.
âThis is a group of players who showed last year how hard they fight for each other. Disappointment today but thereâs only one way to respond.
âTheyâre all big jobs. I havenât taken over an easy one yet but thatâs why Iâm here. I love the challenge and weâll get to where we want to.â
Forest were dealt an injury scare when Murillo was forced off in the first half. He initially tried to continue after receiving treatment on the pitch but was eventually replaced by Nicolo Savona just before the interval. However, Postecoglou is hopeful he wonât be sidelined for long.
âLooks like just a knock, so hopefully with some rest heâll be okay,â he said.
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