Ange Postecoglou has picked up a Nottingham Forest side with a distinctly different identity from his vision. He can build on the belief from the progress with Nuno Espirito Santo but wants to implement his ideas and after a 1-1 draw at Burnley, the players already "look a different team" to the manager.
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‘The progress in our play is the most positive thing’
All in all, Postecoglou was proud of the performance after losses to Arsenal and Swansea City.
“We controlled it well and their keeper pulled off some great saves. We lost a certain amount of control but disappointed we didn't take all three points. We had a couple of sloppy moments and it allowed them to get a bit of traction in the game. We still created enough chances to win the game.”
The Tricky Trees kept 66.3% of the possession at Burnley. It is the highest share of the ball they have recorded their since their return to the Premier League in the 2022/23 campaign. On top of the control, the invention from the players pleased Postecoglou as a building block for the future.
"From seven days ago from when we played Arsenal, we look a different team and we saw elements of that on Wednesday night too.”
They could have left Turf Moor with all three points if not for the reactions of Martin Dubravka.
"He was outstanding. Disappointed but the progress in our play is the most positive thing for me.”
Igor Jesus came off for Chris Wood and he is a player the manager believes will come good. The Brazilian bagged a brace in midweek in the Carabao Cup, so the quality is there to pull through.
"He'll make more an impact as we go on. A lot of our new players come from a different league and it's not easy. Players like Igor, Dilane Bakwa, Dan Ndoye. There's a lot of guys finding their feet.”
For now, he looks forward to Europa League football on Wednesday evening. The Australian picked up the trophy with Tottenham in May and he hopes to create magic with another English outfit.
"I'm really looking forward to it. It'll be great for this group of players. I have three years of experience in the Europa League. Last year went well but it'll be great for these players."
