Ante Postecoglou insists he’s better for his “brutal” sacking from Nottingham Forest, saying it was a “whack” he needed.
The former Socceroos coach was axed by English Premier League club Forest in October just 39 days after replacing Nuno Espirito Santo, who was sacked after just three matches of the season.
In Postecoglou’s eight games in charge in all competitions, Forest failed to record a win, drawing two and losing six.
His nightmare stint came soon after he was sacked by Tottenham Hotspur in June despite leading the club to Europa League glory.
“You can’t always be flying high and successful,” Postecoglou told SEN Radio.
“Sometimes you need to cop a couple of whacks.
“I still feel like what I do still has an impact at this level.
“I want to win things still. I know whatever it is going to be, I have this thing in my head that this will be the best one I’ve done yet because the recent experiences – maybe I needed them.”
Postecoglou’s Forest axing was particularly savage, coming straight after a 3-0 home loss to Chelsea.
“It was brutal,” he said.
“I was in the coaches’ room. I knew it could come any day, but they sacked me straight after the game. I hadn’t done the presser yet, but the press knew.
“I was walking into the corridors. I wanted to leave, otherwise I was going to do something I regret. I wanted to get out of there.
“All the roads were blocked. After half an hour, the roads opened. I got stuck at the traffic lights for 15 minutes. I had Chelsea fans giving it to me, Forest fans weren’t much kinder, and then I had little kids coming up and asking for a selfie.”
Postecoglou said he “paid a heavy price”, but after “28 unbelievable years” as a coach – which included title wins in Australia, Japan and Scotland – it was a case of “who cares”.
“If I were younger, it probably would have (hurt), but it didn’t hurt me because in the end I take responsibility for it,” he said.
“There were enough people around me saying it’s probably not a good idea (to accept the Forest job).
“I thought it was a challenge. I didn’t like not working (after being sacked by Spurs) … (but) it almost looked like it wasn’t going to be a good fit for me right from the beginning.
“It didn’t work out. It’s probably hurt me reputationally, probably here in the EPL for sure, but I don’t worry about that.
“It didn’t leave any marks on me as a person or a football manager.
“If anything, it allowed me to know that next time, I will seek some counsel before I bite off more than I can chew.”
Postecoglou said his Forest experience was also a reminder that he was better off taking charge of a club from the start of pre-season rather that after a campaign had started.
“Jumping in mid-season, especially in the Premier League but in most leagues, is just probably too much of a challenge for the way I do things,” he said.
“That’s what I’m holding out for (in terms of his next job). Where that is and what it looks like is hard to say at the moment, but I haven’t even scratched the surface of what I want to do over here yet and the impact I want to make (and) the football I want to play.”
