FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Nottingham Forest v Tottenham Hotspur - The City Ground, Nottingham, Britain - December 26, 2024 Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou arrives before the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers/File Photo
(Reuters) -Nottingham Forest’s new head coach Ange Postecoglou said on Wednesday that he was humbled and excited by his appointment at the Premier League club and determined to take them back to their "rightful place" in English football.
The 60-year-old former Australia manager replaced Portuguese boss Nuno Espirito Santo, who was sacked by Forest on Tuesday following a breakdown in his relationship with club owner Evangelos Marinakis.
Postecoglou led Tottenham Hotspur to their first major trophy since 2008 when they won the Europa League in May, yet he was dismissed in June after their disappointing 17th-place finish in the Premier League last season.
"I’m excited and I’m looking forward to it and I’m really happy to be here. This club has real ambitions, and that’s important to me. We’ve got an exciting squad,”the coach told Forest TV ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash with Arsenal.
Forest, who won back-to-back European Cups in 1979 and 1980, will feature in a continental competition, the Europa League, for the first time in 30 years this season.
English champions in 1978, they won promotion back to the Premier League in 2022 and are entering a fourth successive season in the top flight.
“Other clubs that have won promotion have struggled to stay in the league, but in a short space of time we’re back in Europe and competing for honours, which is a great credit to everyone involved,” Postecoglou added.
"I get a sense that the club wants more and that’s certainly what I want, so I think it’s a really exciting time. I’m honoured and I’m humbled, but more importantly I’m determined to make sure this football club takes its rightful place."
(Reporting by Angelica Medina in Mexico CityEditing by Toby Davis)
