Ange’s vow: I will take Forest back to top of Europe football

Ange Postecoglou has made a vow to the Nottingham Forest faithful: He wants to take the long-dormant two-time European Cup winners back their “rightful place” in the biggest leagues in world football.

The Australian head coach, who led Tottenham to a Europa League title before being sacked weeks later, has been given another chance in the Premier League after Nuno Espírito Santo was sacked.

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Postecoglou has now been handed a very rare opportunity, with his new Forest job meaning he could go on to win the Europa League trophy in back-to-back seasons with different English clubs. The 60-year-old, who said he’s “honoured and humbled” to be stepping into the top gig at the Midlands outfit, said he plans to do just that this season.

“I get a sense the club wants more, and that’s certainly what I want,” he said. “It’s a fantastic football club with great history and, even in recent times, it has done really well. You bear that responsibility, but I’m excited and I’m looking forward to it. Really happy to be here.”

“This football club hasn’t been in Europe for a very long time, but it’s got a couple of stars on its chest that show it’s got rich history, and I’m sure the fans will be looking forward to it as well.”

“I’m determined to make sure this club takes its rightful place,” he added.

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The biggest challenge ‘Big Ange’ may face right away is style; Forest has been built with a defensive mindset thanks to Espírito Santo’s safe tendencies, but Postecoglou has made his name across several leagues – and won plenty of trophies along the way to  boot – utilising a more expansive, attacking battle plan.

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“I’ve got to be careful what I say,” Postecoglou said when asked about strategies.

“Everyone’s kind of pigeon-holed me pretty much through my whole career.

“I love winning. I love winning things. It’s what I’ve done. I like the fans to be excited about watching the team play. There’s already an existing mentality within the group here of working hard for one another, and I want to tap into that.

“It’s about now implementing my own ideas. I love my teams to attack. I love my teams to score goals. That’s sometimes misconstrued as me just playing one way. But the reason I want my team to play that way is because I love winning things – and that’s what I want to do here.”

So far, it hasn’t quite worked out, with Ange’s time at Forest starting with a 0–3 defeat to 2024/25 runners-up Arsenal on the road, but he did have just 48 hours with the squad before that match’s first whistle blew. Perhaps a more important match will be tomorrow’s League Cup knockout clash with Swansea City at Liberty Stadium – and Postecoglou knows it.

“I cannot afford to waste time… this is not a project,” Ange admitted after the Arsenal loss.