‘Not built that way’: Ange dismisses ‘pragmatic’ calls as Forest set for 29-year first

‘Not built that way’: Ange dismisses ‘pragmatic’ calls as Forest set for 29-year first. After winning the Europa League with Tottenham in May, Ange Postecoglou is back in Spain to kick off his maiden campaign in the secondary European competition with Nottingham Forest.

The Tricky Trees take on Real Betis from 5am AEST on Thursday morning in a landmark occasion for the club.

It is their first European fixture since a 1996 UEFA Cup quarter-final against the might of Bayern Munich.

Get all the latest football news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!!!

The back-to-back European champions in 1979 and 1980 are a proud club, but have suffered in the wilderness for much of the 21st century, languishing in last place in the English second tier as recently as four years ago.

Now, Postecoglou is tasked with ending Forest’s major trophy drought that extends back to their 1990 League Cup triumph, twice as long as the 17-year trophyless streak the Australian snapped at Tottenham.

Postecoglou is well versed in football history, and knows the significance of the occasion for the Nottingham fans – almost 3,500 of whom have tickets to the match, while thousands more have travelled to Seville without tickets, hoping to nab a late minute seat.

“Oh, absolutely. Without a shadow of a doubt,” Postecoglou said when asked if he feels like this is a big moment for the club.

“Thirty years, a club that’s absolutely climbed to the peak of European football in the past and you can just imagine how the supporters are feeling.

“There’s probably a couple of generations in there who’ve heard the stories but not lived the experiences. Now they can live their own experiences.”

The current generation of Forest fans have arrived in the south of Spain with high expectations too.

Forest are winless in the three games since Postecoglou took charge – losing 3-0 to Arsenal at the Emirates, being knocked out of the League Cup by two stoppage time goals from Championship outfit Swansea, and drawing 1-1 with promoted side Burnley.

Nottingham have just five points from five league games so far this season, after sitting in the top four for much of last Premier League campaign before falling to seventh late in the season.

That position was supposed to put them in the third tier Europa Conference League, which Real Betis lost the final of to Chelsea last season, but FA Cup winner Crystal Palace were controversially demoted over multi-ownership rules.

Postecoglou’s triumph in the competition, coupled with Forest’s impressive form last season has them billed as one of the early favourites to win it, a moniker that sits well with the manager.

“I’m excited by it. When I made the decision to accept the position, it was one of the most enticing bits,” Postecoglou said.

The storyline of a former heavyweight club enjoying a modern day resurgence was also very appealing to the former Tottenham and Celtic manager.

Having been at storied clubs in the United Kingdom after coaching in Japan as well as at a World Cup with the Socceroos, and having taken his boyhood club South Melbourne to the Club World Cup, Postecoglou knows all about how a team can go on a remarkable rise to incredible heights.

It is one of the things he loves most about the game.

“It’s brilliant, it’s kind of what football was always designed to be,” the 60-year-old said of Forest’s ascent.

“If you dream and you do things well, you know that you can reach the absolute pinnacle of whatever endeavour you’re in.

“And especially for football clubs, I think that’s always been the aspirational side of the game. Maybe it’s dwindling a little bit but certainly those types of stories are the ones that resonate the most, I think, when you look at football’s history.”

Looking at Postecoglou’s history, the Australian has shown a willingness to curb his attacking philosophy in crunch European ties.

There was no better example of such than during the Europa League final in Bilbao, as Spurs sat back deeper, defending for their lives to cling on to a 1-0 lead, that ended as the final margin.

In their last two outings, Forest have added more aspects of ‘Angeball’ into their game, including use of inverted full backs in attack.

The signs have been promising despite the underwhelming results, with Forest having the most build-up attacks – ten or more passes leading to a shot or a touch in the box – in the league in Postecoglou’s two games in charge.

But they have only found the back of the net once, and while the pieces are still coming together, Postecoglou knows he will have to pull different levers at various times to get the results he desires.

“It’s fair to say that the world is crying out for me to be pragmatic,” he said. “But I’m just not built that way.

“I’ve always said what I like to do and what I enjoy more than anything is winning, so whatever it takes we’ll do.

“In the final we [Tottenham] had to play a certain way because of the availability of the players we had.

“I think you do have to approach the Europa League a little bit differently.

“Tactically, there’s some tweaks you need to make to allow the players to perform at their best.

“I still want to win every game. That’s never going to change.”