‘Not a project’ – Postecoglou can’t ‘waste time’ in Forest rebrand

Nottingham Forest head coach Ange Postecoglou says he “cannot afford to waste time” as he seeks to implement a new style of play at the club.

The Australian’s first game in charge ended in an emphatic defeat with a 3-0 loss away at Arsenal.

The 60-year-old was appointed as Nuno Espirito Santo’s successor on Wednesday and vowed to build a side in his image.

While there was evidence of stylistic changes against Arsenal, Forest managed just one shot on target against the Gunners and registered a lower expected goals (xG) than in any game Premier League match under Nuno.

Asked how long it will take until we see a Forest side playing in his image, Postecoglou said: “Wednesday mate (against Swansea). I can’t afford to waste time, this is not a project.

“I’m not going to let it take long, we’ve got an unbelievable opportunity to make an impact.”

Martin Zubimendi, a £50m summer signing from Real Sociedad, scored either side of an effort from Sweden striker Viktor Gyokeres to move Arsenal to the top of the table.

“Losing 3-0 is tough to take but it’s the first game under the new manager and there are a few positives to build on,” the midfielder told TNT Sports.

“We only had one session together so it was tough to put things into the game but I’m sure more will come.

“Postecoglou said in the changing room just to trust him and we’ll get back on the training ground and look at things, ideas we can improve on – we’re all focused.

“We’ve got the players in the changing room to do what he wants to do so we all just need to believe in it, put things into practice and we’re positive it’ll pay off.”

Forest finished seventh under Nuno last term, earning the club a place in the Europa League after Crystal Palace’s demotion.

“To consider the fact it was only a couple of years ago that they were in the Championship and it’s been 20-something years since they were last in the Premier League, now they’re going to be playing in Europe,” former Man City defender Nedum Onuoha told Final Score.

“You’re talking about a side who are openly trying to win trophies at this level, it’s a good time to be a Forest fan but you hope for Postecoglou’s reign it doesn’t feel too extreme in terms of the change.

Postecoglou’s first game in charge of Nottingham Forest has to be assessed in a measured fashion given he is one week into the job and facing an Arsenal side almost six years into their project.

The Australian has had limited time to put his stamp on this Forest side but a few differences were evident pointing to the direction Postecoglou might look to take Forest.

The most obvious was starting with a back four. It appears the 4-4-1-1 that Postecoglou has deployed across his career is to be maintained.

Stylistically, Forest aimed to build in a slower fashion – looking to establish territory higher up the pitch, rather than playing the more direct, counter-attacking style that was successful last season. Data from Opta showed that their ‘direct speed’ – how quickly they move the ball from defence to attack – was their joint-lowest for a game in the league since the start of last season.

Out of possession, they set up in what looked like a 4-2-3-1 shape and defended in a man-marking fashion. We will have to see more from Postecoglou to know if this man-to-man approach defensively is something they persist with or if this was specific to Arsenal given their quality and rotation-heavy style.

Nuno by comparison tended to set Forest up in a zonal fashion (meaning each player defended specific zones, rather than following individual players) but did use a man-to-man defence at times against the league’s top teams.

Forest’s defensive line was set higher up the pitch than under Nuno, but they were punished for this with Gyokeres’ strike. Arsenal exploited a long pass over the top of the defence for Eze to run on to as Forest failed to apply pressure on the passer. Naturally, Forest’s collective understanding of when to push up and apply pressure will improve with time.

Lastly, the biggest difference between Postecoglou’s tactics today with how he has set up his teams at previous clubs was the use of full-backs. In build-up, Forest played in a fairly standard 4-3-3 shape with full-backs starting in wide positions rather than inverting into midfield as has been the norm in his sides. Was this a short-term tactic given the lack of preparation time?