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  1. Postecoglou aims for EFL Cup success at start of Forest reignpublished at 14:57 BST 16 September

    Nick Mashiter
    Football reporter

    Ange Postecoglou at Nottingham Forest's training groundImage source, Getty Images

    New Nottingham Forest boss Ange Postecoglou has targeted EFL Cup glory.

    The League Cup was the last major honour the club won in 1990 and they go to Swansea City in the third round on Wednesday.

    Postecoglou and owner Evangelos Marinakis have been clear he is at the club to win silverware and that quest for Forest starts at the Liberty Stadium.

    "I think so, yes [it is a chance to win a trophy]. I got to the semi-finals last year [with Tottenham, losing 4-1 on aggregate to Liverpool]," he said.

    "Every opportunity you have to win a trophy, you shouldn't let it go. It's hard to win things, especially when you're at a club that has had success in the past and the supporters want more of it.

    "We'll give ourselves every opportunity to have a win.

    "In the context of the club's ambitions, where we are in terms of the season with me coming in, it's a great opportunity for us to implement some things we want to. It's an important game."

    Postecoglou will be without Murillo after he came off against Arsenal, Nicolo Savona replacing him at the weekend, and the new boss is likely to make sweeping changes.

    Summer signings James McAtee, Omari Hutchinson, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Arnaud Kalimuendo could be given starts in south Wales.

    "They haven't had a chance to get out there, some haven't played at all yet," said Postecoglou.

    "Tomorrow is the perfect opportunity to get them out there, get them playing and get them feeling what it's like to play for the club and get some match fitness into them.

    "We are going to need all the players and the last thing we want is to have players who haven't played for over a month."

  2. Postecoglou on Marinakis, trophy hopes and settling inpublished at 14:45 BST 16 September

    Marissa Thomas
    BBC Sport journalist

    Nottingham Forest boss Ange Postecoglou has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's Carabao Cup third-round tie at Championship side Swansea City (kick-off 20:00 BST).

    Here are the key lines from his news conference:

    • Postecoglou said defender Murillo is "progressing well" after suffering "a significant knock" in the defeat at Arsenal but he will not feature at Swansea: "Every day he has improved and he wants to be ready for Saturday [against Burnley]. We're hopeful he will be available."

    • On how important the game is: "They are all important in the context of the club's ambition and where we are in terms of the season and with me coming in, a great opportunity to implement some of the things we want to."

    • Postecoglou said it has not been "difficult" to get his ideas across and that it is "just a matter of time", adding: "We have had two really good training sessions with the whole group. The past two days have been good in terms of getting the players understanding the routines we will have going into games. It feels a lot more calm and controlled."

    • On his relationship with owner Evangelos Marinakis: "I haven't seen him but he's been good, he has reached out. He knows the challenge that is before us but he is very ambitious. He supported both the previous managers very, very well and that's all you can ask for as a manager. I know I will be [supported] and that's all you can ask for as a manager."

    • On the Carabao Cup being a trophy he wants to win: "I got to the semi-finals last year and I think every opportunity you have to win a trophy, you shouldn't let go. It is hard to win things in football. This cup gives us every opportunity to win some silverware."

    • Postecoglou says his first seven days at the club have been "great" and he has a "really good feeling". He added that he has "settled in really quickly" and he feels "very comfortable in the place".

    • On seeing new players against Swansea: "The club invested heavily in the summer, a lot of new players and they haven't really had a chance to get out there. Some of them haven't played at all and Wednesday is a perfect opportunity to get them out there and give them a feel of what it is like to play for the club while getting some match fitness into them."

    Hear more from Postecoglou on BBC Sounds

    Follow all of Tuesday's football news

  3. No time to waste in Forest's hunt for silverwarepublished at 09:36 BST 16 September

    Nick Mashiter
    Football reporter

    Ange Postecoglou pointing his finger and shouting instructions to his Nottingham Forest players from the touchlineImage source, Getty Images

    "I cannot afford to waste time - this is not a project," said Ange Postecoglou after Saturday's defeat at Arsenal.

    The former Tottenham boss was brought to the City Ground to win trophies and that starts with Wednesday's EFL Cup third-round trip to Championship side Swansea City.

    The 3-0 loss at the Emirates comes with the context of a disrupted week, with Postecoglou having just two days with the full squad following his appointment and the international break.

    But the Australian has promised his style will not take long to implement and he expects to see it at the Liberty Stadium.

    The competition - the last major trophy the club lifted in 1990 - is one Forest could and should legitimately target.

    The strides made in the past 18 months cannot be wasted by regressing and the heavy summer investment was done to ensure Forest will now challenge for silverware.

    Postecoglou will speak to the media again on Tuesday and he is under no illusions why he was appointed as Nuno Espirito Santo's successor.

    He joked at his unveiling he may have to win a trophy in his first season to keep his job. While that was tongue-in-cheek, Forest and their expensively assembled squad have a real chance this season and cannot afford to waste it.

    Come back to this page later on Tuesday for all the key lines from Postecoglou's news conference

  4. Arsenal 3-0 Nottingham Forest - the fans' verdictpublished at 08:21 BST 15 September

    Your opinions graphic
    Media caption,

    We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Arsenal and Nottingham Forest.

    Here are some of your comments:

    Arsenal fans

    Mike: Very confident display and showed the great benefit of Arsenal's active transfer period. The new boys all acquitted themselves extremely well. Keep up this excellent start and we will have a real chance of total success.

    Vince: What a complete victory and to think the new boys haven't had much time to bed in. If all goes well, the second half of the season should prove to be great watching for us Gooners!

    Ryan: Last year, losing Saka, Havertz, Saliba and Odegaard (plus no Rice) would have probably led to a shaky win or, more likely, dropped points. The strength in the squad now means that four definite starters are not missed. Get through this tough first three months of the season close to the top and Arsenal will be in good shape.

    Barry: With the players we now have, barring too many injuries, this could be our time to win the league.

    Phoenix: A good way to forget the loss at Anfield - good ball play from the guys. Just happy for Viktor Gyokeres and Zubimendi is a colossus of a player - small in nature, big in performance. Trophy is the currency that the team needs going forward.

    Forest fans

    Andre: I was expecting a larger defeat, to be honest. We need to bring in the new signings. Never been a fan of our new coach. Seems he is doing the same job when he was at Tottenham - taking us down the league!

    Stephen: Forest haven't won at the Emirates for a while. No Ange effect either. Needs to start winning big time with all the new recruitments.

    Mossy: Losing players this early in the season does not bode well, with games coming up quick and fast. Morgan Gibbs-White and Callum Hudson-Odoi are shadows of the influential players of last season.

    Steve: This is a disaster appointment by an owner who had a mardy and dumped our best manager for years!

    Russell: Let's have some patience - Arsenal are a top side.

  5. Postecoglou's tactical impact was clearpublished at 13:22 BST 14 September

    Umir Irfan
    Football tactics correspondent

    Ange PostecoglouImage source, Getty Images

    Ange 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 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 his new team.

    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 Espirito Santo 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 Viktor Gyokeres' strike. Arsenal exploited a long pass over the top of the defence for Eberechi 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 on Saturday 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?

    It is difficult to make any definitive conclusions based on a single game in Postecoglou's first week in charge; however there were numerous new ideas at play against Arsenal that may become more evident in upcoming weeks.