Postecoglou's Forest reign comes to an end after 39-day nightmare
Soccer Football - Premier League - Nottingham Forest v Chelsea - The City Ground, Nottingham, Britain - October 18, 2025 Nottingham Forest manager Ange Postecoglou reacts REUTERS/Chris Radburn
Ange Postecoglou's miserable reign at Nottingham Forest came to a swift and brutal end on Saturday 39 days after his appointment, making him the shortest-serving permanent Premier League manager to be sacked mid-season.
Twenty minutes after a chorus of boos met the full-time whistle following Forest's 3-0 home loss to Chelsea, the club wielded the axe on the Australian - the first Forest boss to go winless in his opening eight games in charge.
"Nottingham Forest Football Club can confirm that after a series of disappointing results and performances, Ange Postecoglou has been relieved of his duties as head coach with immediate effect," the club said in a statement.
The post had gone viral before Postecoglou could even ready himself for post-match media duties, which the Australian never had the opportunity to fulfil.
He gave a grimace at the full-time whistle and the 60-year-old cut a lone figure near the centre circle as he quietly applauded the handful of loyal Forest fans who had stayed behind following a mass exodus after Chelsea's third goal.
INHERITING ESPIRITO SANTO'S SQUAD
Postecoglou had inherited a side that had worked wonders under Nuno Espirito Santo and was reshaped by a 200 million pounds ($268.48 million) close-season splurge to reinforce the squad as they competed on a new front in the Europa League.
However, after Portuguese coach Nuno was sacked last month, Postecoglou never got the team going again, kicking off the new era with a 3-0 loss at Arsenal before they were knocked out of the League Cup away to second-tier Swansea City.
The winless run continued when they failed to beat promoted sides Burnley and Sunderland while even Danish team Midtjylland beat them in the Europa League.
Dreams of playing on Thursday nights turned into nightmares but the writing had been on the wall for weeks in the Premier League as Forest dropped like a stone from fifth to 17th.
When the pressure mounted, Postecoglou proudly pointed to his record at his previous clubs where he always won a trophy in his second season - including Celtic and his last stint at Tottenham Hotspur, who sacked him at the end of the season.
He had guided the London club to the Europa League title and Champions League qualification, but it came at the expense of their Premier League form as they finished a lowly 17th.
That is where Forest find themselves, only with results this weekend raising the prospect of the team sinking into the relegation zone as they hunt for a third manager this term.
'NO ONE WANTS TO WIN MORE THAN ME'
Prior to kickoff, Postecoglou was all smiles when he spoke for the last time as Forest boss.
"Whatever I say is irrelevant. No one wants to win more than me," he told TNT Sports. "I'm certainly not happy we haven't won so far, but it hasn't been for the want of trying and we have been in games we should have won."
Postecoglou made wholesale changes to the side that lost to Newcastle United before the international break, leaving several new signings brought in for a combined 130 million pounds on the bench - a decision that may have ultimately cost him his job.
In Friday's extraordinary rant, Postecoglou had rejected the narrative that he is a "failed manager".
"Maybe I'm a manager that if you give me time, the story ends the same - at all my previous clubs - with a trophy," he said at the end of a long-winded answer to his critics.
However, Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis showed he is not the patient type and Postecoglou has gone 24 hours later.
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