“It was an exciting competition for me last year when I was at Spurs, and we ended up having a historic night in Bilbao,” said Postecoglou.
“And this football club hasn’t been in Europe for a very long time, but it’s got a couple of stars on its chest that show it’s got rich history, and I’m sure the fans will be looking forward to it as well.”
The pressure’s on Postecoglou, though, as his predecessor Nuno Espirito Santo is still much loved after getting them back into Europe after three decades before his fallout and eventual sacking this week by Greek owner Evangelos Marinakis.
The Australian’s side are expected to play a completely different, attacking brand to the more safety-first approach of the Portuguese’s side, but Postecoglou smiled: “I’ve got to be careful what I say because everyone’s kind of pigeon-holed me, pretty much, through my whole career.
“I love winning. I love winning things. It’s what I’ve done.
“I like the fans to be excited about watching the team play.
“There’s already an existing mentality within the group here of working hard for one another, and I want to tap into that.
“It’s about now implementing my own ideas. I love my teams to attack. I love my teams to score goals. That’s sometimes misconstrued as me just playing one way. But the reason I want my team to play that way is because I love winning things – and that’s what I want to do here.”
Forest also confirmed Postecoglou will be reunited with his Spurs coaching team of assistants Mile Jedinak, Nick Montgomery and Sergio Raimundo, and goalkeeping coach Rob Burch.
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It will mean the same Australian flavour to his Spurs regime being transported 210km north as he reunites with his trusty right-hand man, 41-year-old assistant Jedinak, who was his choice for captain as long ago as 2014 when he managed the Socceroos at the World Cup.
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