Postecoglou targets trophies and ‘true believers’ at Nottingham Forest | Nottingham Forest

Ange Postecoglou walked out of the City Ground tunnel, which is decorated with famous images from yesteryear, and surveyed the scene. Just like that the Nottingham Forest head coach, in a blue suit, open-neck white shirt and Paul Smith trainers – the designer is a son of the city – was back in business. He posed with the garibaldi red shirt and before long was explaining how Forest’s move interrupted his belated 60th birthday celebrations last weekend. “We had this whole thing planned, The Hangover-style but we were in bed by 10pm as we realised our age,” Postecoglou said.

It was in May, when the Europa League trophy parade halted outside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, that Postecoglou provided an iconic mic-drop moment: declaring that season three always eclipses season two in the best TV series. Four months after being sacked, replacing Nuno Espírito Santo three games into the Premier League season provided quite the plot twist. “If you’re talking about my career, this is season 28, so it’s a long-running series and it’s done really well in different countries,” he said with a smile. “It’s still going, it’s picked up a few awards.”

It was one of a few endearing quips on Postecoglou’s third day in the job, his first with a full complement of Forest players after the international break before his team visits Arsenal on Saturday. The former Forest striker Tony Woodcock, a 1979 European Cup winner, was a neighbour of Postecoglou’s in north London and the captain of that revered team lent a hand at training on Thursday. “John McGovern was running around chasing balls today and I’m going: ‘What are you doing, John? You’re a legend, you don’t have to do that,” Postecoglou said.

Postecoglou’s delivery is dry and as such it seemed he was only half-joking when he suggested he may need to win the Europa League for a second successive season to satisfy Forest’s owner, Evangelos Marinakis. “The joy for me coming to this club is to win a trophy here not because it’s going to help me keep my job [but] because I know how it’s going to make people feel,” he said. “Hopefully when I finish my tenure here I can come back here and somewhere on the walls there is something that says I was here. That is what drives me on a daily basis. Can I create a moment that will outlast my presence in any kind of organisation?”

He spoke fondly about Brian Clough, an inspiration growing up in Australia. “At the time, the only stuff that got broadcast was the English First Division. I used to run to the newsagent to get three-month-old Shoot! magazines the day they came out, even though it was three months out of date. I loved the legendary figures of the game; it is what inspired me to be a manager. People like Bill Shankly, Jock Stein, then you get somebody like Brian Clough … I knew that team, how they played and to see a club like Nottingham Forest win two European Cups was incredible.”

Various Australian television crews were in attendance at Postecoglou’s unveiling, with one reporter asking whether Aussies who adopted Spurs as their team on the back of his appointment two years ago may need to shift allegiances. “I’ll find out pretty quick who the true Ange-believers are and who is just on the gravy train,” Postecoglou said, the room breaking into laughter. A journalist from Postecoglou’s home town, Melbourne, asked whether he deemed unfair his dismissal at Spurs after leading them to a first trophy in 17 years. “It was never going to derail me … maybe things happen for a reason and it has landed me here with the opportunity to do something special at this club.”

Ange Postecoglou feels he has unfinished business in England after winning the Europa League with Spurs. Photograph: John Walton/PA

Arguably one of Postecoglou’s most intriguing answers alluded to Nuno, who succeeded Steve Cooper, the manager who led Forest back to the top flight, in December 2023 when the club were struggling towards the bottom of the table. “I’ve got to convince every person in the building about what we’re trying to do on the back of them doing something a certain way and having success that way,” Postecoglou said. “It is fair to say it’s not going to happen overnight, it’s a process that will take a little bit of time, but never at the expense of competitiveness. None of my beliefs are going to get in the way of us making sure the team is prepared to win on a Saturday.”

As for Marinakis accelerating his move after initial talks, how much did that hamper Postecoglou’s birthday gathering with family and four of his best friends from Australia? “My wife wasn’t happy because she had it all planned out and I had to take a couple of calls in the middle of it, but it was all for a good reason, I guess,” Postecoglou said. “My wife kept asking and everybody had asked about what I wanted for my birthday. I said: ‘Just a job’ and somebody delivered, so that’s good.”