Nottingham Forest players must share blame for Ange Postecoglou axe, says skipper Ryan Yates
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
Chelsea assistant manager Willy Caballero with Nottingham Forest manager Ange Postecoglou (right) after the Nottingham Forest v Chelsea match.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
NOTTINGHAM – Nottingham Forest captain Ryan Yates said the players must also take the blame for their dismal run after the English Premier League club sacked manager Ange Postecoglou
Postecoglou’s miserable 39-day reign at the Midlands side came to an end 20 minutes after the full-time whistle, as the Australian became the first Forest manager to fail to win any of his first eight games in charge.
The speed of the dismissal caught even the players off guard as Postecoglou was dismissed even before he could fulfil his post-match media duties, with the 60-year-old leaving the City Ground immediately after speaking to the team.
According to the BBC, it is the second-shortest stint by a Premier League manager, following Sam Allardyce’s 30 days in charge of Leeds United in 2023.
“I’ll be honest. Ange came in after the game, debriefed the game and then I went out to do some running. I came back and news had broke that he had gone,” Yates told BBC Radio.
“Everybody has to take responsibility. I think it would be unfair to pin it on anybody.
“We have to look ourselves in the mirror and dust ourselves down and go again because things in football can change really quickly. That’s what we are going to be thinking about.”
Following other results on Oct 18, Forest have now slipped into the relegation zone, sitting 18th with five points after eight games – two points behind Burnley in 17th.
Without a win in any competition since their season-opener against Brentford, including the Europa League where they are 25th in the standings, Forest are looking for a third manager to take charge this season after Postecoglou replaced Nuno Espirito Santo.
“Partly we are to blame (for Postecoglou’s sacking) because we are the guys going out on the pitch and trying to get results,” Yates added.
“Things in football can change very quickly. With a good result on Thursday night (against Porto in the Europa League), we can get that good feeling back and we kick in.”
Former England and Blackburn Rovers striker Chris Sutton believes that Postecoglou would have been better off leaving Forest. He wrote on X: “Ange better off out of Forest… what chance did he have?”
The British media reported that former Burnley and Everton boss Sean Dyche is in the frame to come in and steady the ship, while Roberto Mancini, who guided Manchester City to the Premier League title in 2012, is also an option for the beleaguered club.
Dyche was most recently manager of Everton, before getting the sack in January, while Mancini left his coaching job with the Saudi Arabia national team by mutual agreement in October 2024.
Fulham’s Marco Silva is also reportedly on the radar of Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis.
REUTERS
