Ange Postecoglou rips into Tottenham and Daniel Levy in explosive rant as pressure mounts at Nottingham Forest

Last Updated on 18 October 2025

Under-fire Nottingham Forest manager Ange Postecoglou launched an astonishing, five-minute monologue today, firing back at critics labeling him a “failed manager” and taking direct aim at his former club, Tottenham, and former chairman, Daniel Levy.

The explosive press conference comes amidst intense scrutiny, with Postecoglou’s Forest side winless in their first seven games.

Addressing the media ahead of a crucial clash with Chelsea, the Australian tactician vehemently defended his managerial pedigree.

He argued that the perception of his Spurs tenure is “incorrect,” highlighting that he delivered the club’s first trophy in 17 years, the Europa League, before his sacking last summer.

Postecoglou rejected the sole focus on Tottenham’s 17th-place Premier League finish, explaining it was due to prioritising European success and rotating a depleted squad, a choice he sanctioned.

Ange Postecoglou reveals he was offended by Daniel Levy in initial meeting

Postecoglou revealed he was ‘slightly offended‘ by an initial conversation with Levy upon his 2023 appointment.

Levy, he claimed, said Tottenham ‘need something different’ after failed attempts with ‘winners’ like Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte. “I see myself as a winner,” Postecoglou retorted.

He lamented that his successful first season, which saw Spurs finish fifth and secure European football, has ‘disappeared from the record books’, noting the team’s promising start was even overlooked by Tottenham’s hierarchy as a reason for his dismissal.

Postecoglou insisted that his history shows that if given time, the story “always ends the same… with me and a trophy.”

Ange Postecoglou’s explosive rant in full

Speaking to the media ahead of the weekend’s game vs Chelsea, Postecoglou said:

“I guess from my perspective I just don’t fit, not here, just in general. If you look at things through the prism that I am a failed manager who is lucky to get this job, I know you’re smirking at me, but that’s what’s been said, then of course these first five weeks looks like this guy is under pressure. But there is an alternative story…

“I came to the Premier League two years ago and I took over at Tottenham, I was told by the chairman [Daniel Levy] that this club has to win a trophy. He said we’ve tried to bring winners in: Jose [Mourinho], Antonio Conte, and it hasn’t worked. We need something different. I was slightly offended by that because I see myself as winner.

“I took over Spurs who finished eighth. Massive club, but no European football, and one that can’t go two years without European football. We finished fifth in my first year and every time Harry Kane scores a goal [for Bayern after leaving Spurs] I go, ‘I wish he stayed just one more year’. It would have been handy to have him after finishing fifth.

“But somehow that [first] year has disappeared from the record books. It was even used as a reason for me losing my job because even Tottenham decided to exclude the first ten games. Yet the first ten games here [at Forest] are important apparently.

“But anyway, we finished fifth. I got them back into European football, which is where a club like Tottenham should be. Then I was in [post-season] meetings and was told we need a trophy because it will mean everything to the football club. That’s fine.

“We win a trophy. We shed the tag of being ‘Spursy’. [We get] Champions League football, which brings some rewards and the opportunity to bring greater players. But all I have heard since I finished at Tottenham is that we finished 17th last year.

“So if you look at it through the prism of finishing 17th, then I am a failed manager who is lucky to get another opportunity. But again, if I have to explain why we finished 17th, it’s really basic. It doesn’t have to be too in-depth.

“Just look at the last five or six team sheets of last season to see what I prioritised [the Europa League], and who was on the bench. And the last game against Brighton, the players were out partying for two days, which I sanctioned because I felt they deserved to. So yes we finished 17th. But if people think that’s a reflection of me and my coaching then again, I think they are looking at it through the prism of I just don’t fit.

“So we get to the current space [at Forest] where there is a different story to tell, that maybe I am not a failed manager who was lucky to get this job and instead maybe I am a manager who, if you give him time, the story always ends the same. At all my previous clubs, [it ends] with me and a trophy.”

Nottingham Forest’s poor start under Ange Postecoglou

His reign at Nottingham Forest has been nothing short of a crisis, with the manager suffering the worst start by a Forest boss in a century.

Since replacing Nuno Espirito Santo in September, the Australian has failed to secure a single victory, overseeing a winless streak that has extended to seven matches across all competitions.

This dire run, which includes five defeats, has seen the team’s defensive solidity evaporate and an early exit from the Carabao Cup, placing Postecoglou under immediate and intense pressure just weeks into his tenure.

Rumours suggest that the next games are crucial and could decide whether Ange keeps his job or if Nottingham Forest end up sacking their second manager of the campaign.