On paper, Saturday’s trip to Burnley isn’t a must-win game for Nottingham Forest, but in the context of Ange Postecoglou’s start as head coach, it may well be.
Postecoglou applauded the Forest fans after Wednesday’s Carabao Cup collapse against Swansea City, leaving the Australian with back-to-back defeats since arriving at the City Ground.
Even with the two defeats, pundits still believe Postecoglou can succeed at Forest, but he could really do with a positive result to ensure that the mood doesn’t slip too far within the fanbase.
According to journalist Colin Fray, though, the new head coach has already reached a moment where the wrong result could pile intense pressure on his shoulders.
Why Nottingham Forest need a result against Burnley
The two defeats under Postecoglou followed Forest’s 3-0 defeat against West Ham before the international break, meaning that the Reds supporters have now gone over a month without seeing their side win.
Tension could be understood, then, but Fray believes that this tension risks boiling over into something worse if Forest don’t leave Turf Moor with a positive result.
Speaking on Shut Up and Show More Football, he said: “The fact that it’s Real Betis next, which is a huge game, and we don’t know how well Forest will be suited to the European stage. […] If we’re honest about it, you could see them losing that game. It’s the most difficult of the eight in the Europa League.
“If they were to lose that one […] the idea that Forest have also lost against Burnley and therefore Ange Postecoglou’s first game at the City Ground is on the back of four straight defeats for him and five for the club puts him on the back foot immediately with the home fans.”
Adding the context of next Wednesday’s Europa League game does ramp up the pressure slightly on the Burnley clash, as the trip to face Real Betis does not need the extra pressure of Postecoglou searching for his first win.
Ange Postecoglou on the pressure of Premier League management
Ideally, the win comes against Burnley and the Reds jet off to Seville with a spring in their step, but Turf Moor is a tough ground to play at, so Forest will need to show resolve to secure three points.
In terms of pressure, though, Postecoglou isn’t feeling it centred on him alone, but rather from the wider context of competing in the Premier League itself.
He said in his pre-match press conference: “I think there’s been negativity around my arrival since I got to the Premier League. So, that’s kind of the constant space I’m in.
I think it is important we win on Saturday, not for me to ease the pressure or anything, but, you know, we’ve lost the last two games in the Premier League and, you know, in the Premier League, every game is tough.
You don’t want to sort of be in a position where you haven’t won because then you start chasing the game a little bit. So, we’ve got to try and make amends after two poor Premier League results to try and get points on the board and start moving us in the right direction on the table”
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