Nottingham Forest impressed in their Europa League opener against Real Betis, but they now must avoid an issue that plagued Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham last season.
Despite the Spanish media criticising Postecoglou for Forest not seeing out the victory in Seville on Wednesday, it’s hard to argue that the Reds weren’t impressive on their return to European football after a 30-year absence.
Individuals like Elliot Anderson drew praise from Joe Cole, but it was a performance that the whole team can take confidence from, given that Betis away was the toughest of the league phase fixtures on paper.
The confidence should help the Reds in their return to Premier League action against Sunderland on Saturday, but Postecoglou will be wary of how poorly his Tottenham side coped with transitioning from Europe to domestic fixtures last season.
Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham had a terrible record after Europa League games
Postecoglou won the Europa League with Spurs last season, but also delivered the North London club’s worst Premier League campaign.
Amid the difficult domestic campaign, what was most striking was Spurs’ league form immediately after playing in the Europa League.
Postecoglou’s side only managed three victories after returning from UEFA competition, with nine defeats contributing significantly to their dismal 17th-place finish.
It was this sort of form that eventually saw the Forest head coach sacked in North London, as the domestic drop off was simply too drastic to be ignored by the Spurs hierarchy.
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A bad omen, undoubtedly, but Postecoglou’s words after the Betis draw surely suggest that he is confident that last season’s form with Spurs won’t be repeated.
Ange Postecoglou is sure that the wins are coming for Forest
Looking ahead to Saturday evening, Simon Jordan expects Forest to beat Sunderland after being impressed by the Reds against Betis.
Postecoglou is still waiting for his first win in the role so there’s an extra layer of pressure on the game, but the Australian is convinced that the squad will get their reward for their play on Wednesday.
He said after the Betis draw: “It was brilliant to watch. The way we moved the ball around, the way we were compact and we created really quality chances. There won’t be many teams that come here and do that.
“So, there are so many promising signs and um I guess my job is to make sure the players keep their heads up, and don’t lose heart because we’re not getting the wins that I think our play deserves at the moment, but I firmly believe they’ll come.”