IT WAS a claim straight from the Brian Clough playbook – but one very much with Evangelos Marinakis in mind.
Ange Postecoglou vowed to bring trophy “joy” back to Nottingham Forest, aware that the club’s Greek billionaire owner is demanding with a capital D.
Ange Postecoglou has already taken charge of his first Nottingham Forest training sessionRitchie Sumpter/Nottingham Forest FC via Getty Images
He backed himself to win a trophy last season and delivered
PAMarinakis sacked Nuno despite a brilliant season last time around[/caption]
Postecoglou, sacked by Spurs within days of ending their 17-year trophy drought, knows just how much Marinakis craves silverware at the City Ground.
Asked if, having delivered on his vow to win a pot in his second season at Spurs, he could do it in his first at Forest, he responded: “I might have to win one in my first season to have a second one here.”
It was said with a hint of a smile, but an awareness that while many think Daniel Levy is a tough taskmaster, Marinakis comes from another dimension.
But Postecoglou, who revealed his 60th birthday celebrations – including plans for a “Hangover”-style gathering with four of his best mates – had been curtailed by the first contact from Marinakis, much to the displeasure of his wife, recognises he is walking in the footsteps of a Forest giant.
It may have been 45 years ago that Clough’s Forest won the title and then conquered Europe twice.
Yet Postecoglou, who grew up in Melbourne transfixed by the glories of that side – that upbringing means that even when he is in a good mood, there is a small chip on his shoulder – believes he can make the same splash as his most illustrious predecessor.
Postecoglou said: “Australia was a country that did have communications – we had electricity running.
“I don’t say it to sound a bit sort of facetious but I think sometimes guys on this side don’t realise the impact.
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“Because when you’re passionate about something that isn’t on your doorstep, you are totally invested.
“I love football. The only stuff that got broadcast was English First Division.
“So, my whole life was all over it. I used to run to the newsagent and get three-month-old Shoot magazines the day they came out, even though they were three months old.
“I loved the legendary figures in the game. It’s what inspired me to be a manager.
“It was people like Bill Shankly or Jock Stein and then you get someone like a Brian Clough. Not just like a manager, the person he was.
“I was all in. I followed that journey. I knew that team. I knew how they played.
“To see a club like Nottingham Forest win two European Cups is incredible.
“There will never be any comparisons between me and him. Brian Clough is a stand-alone legend. As a manager, as a man.
“But coming to his club puts a fair bit of responsibility on my shoulders.
“I know that’s what I’ve inherited. I don’t take that lightly. I want to try and replicate to the best of my ability.”
At Spurs, the initial love-in faded last season, rekindled, briefly, by the explosion of sheer delirium that followed the win over Manchester United in Bilbao.
Forest fans loved last year’s journey under Nuno Espirito Santo. At least, until the final chapters saw that dream of Champions League football fall away.
But Uefa’s intervention means Postecoglou gets a chance to retain the Europa League trophy this season with his new side, although rather than being “Season Three”, he insists it’s “Season 28 – a long-running series, done really well in different countries, still going and I’ve picked up a few awards”.
And, admitting doing the school run with his kids on Monday had made the decision to get back in the saddle even easier, he already knows what that will mean.
He added: “I know how closely linked this football club is to its community.
“If you can harness that then you can create something special.
“That isn’t going to happen overnight, they’re not going to love me for the first day.
“So that’s something I’m going to earn, that sort of trust and respect. But they’ll get behind us for sure.
“The joy for me in coming to this football club is to win a trophy here.
“Not because it’s going to help me keep my job but because I know how it’s going to make people feel. That’s why we do what we do.
“Hopefully, when I finish my tenure here, I can come back here and somewhere on the walls there’s something that says I was here.
“I still believe that’s what’s most important.
“That’s what still drives me on a daily basis.
“I love the fact that I’ve come to another football club that has had the ultimate success. It’s won the European Cup twice but hasn’t had success for a very long time.
“There’s a generation of fans who hear about it but haven’t experienced it. I’d love for them to experience it. That’s what motivates me.”
And, unquestionably, the bloke who pays the bills.
While he insisted he had only met Marinakis “three or four times” before taking the phone call, Postecoglou conceded: “He wants to win, yeah. No doubt about it, he wants to win.
“And that’s brilliant, because that’s what I want to do. It’s just what winning will mean. What bringing success to this football club will mean.
“Not to me or to him, of course we’ll enjoy it, but what it will mean to the fans.
“That’s what inspires and motivates me. Can I create a moment that will outlast my presence? That’s what’s going to drive me every single day, to bring joy to these people and allow a whole generation to actually feel what they’ve heard about.”
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