Harry Kewell's former boss and the 39 disastrous days before he was fired

The new coach of Hanoi FC, Harry Kewell, is a compatriot of Ange Postecoglou. Not only that, he has worked with the Greek-Australian strategist in two positions. First, when he was a player and played under Postecoglou at Melbourne Victory; and a few years ago, he became one of Postecoglou's assistants, the head coach of Celtic.

When he entered coaching, Kewell said the best advice he received was from Postecoglou, who told him to "have the courage to forge your own path".

On the coaching side, Kewell also praised his former boss. "Ange brought out the best in the team because he controlled the game, because he was always watching from a distance and covering everything. He was also willing to listen to questions, and I liked that because I was a player who asked questions," Kewell said in an interview in July.

Harry Kewell and Ange Postecoglou while at Celtic.

At that time, Postecoglou had just been sacked by Tottenham. Kewell commented that it was a "very harsh" decision, especially when "Ange had done what Tottenham had dreamed of for many years, which was to win a title".

Kewell will surely be even more shocked to hear that his former boss has been sacked again, this time by Nottingham Forest, after just 39 days and 8 matches. Postecoglou becomes the shortest-serving manager in the history of the East Midlands club.

Ironically, it was Evangelos Marinakis who fired Postecoglou. The Greek businessman presented Postecoglou with an award in July, in recognition of being the first Greek-born manager to win a major European trophy.

Ange Postecoglou was sacked by Forest after just eight games.

Postecoglou had also moved into a flat in the Nottingham area last week, and Marinakis had intended to move into the same building to be closer to his friends. But after Saturday's 3-0 defeat to Chelsea, 10 minutes after the final whistle, technical director George Syrianos called Postecoglou in the City Ground tunnel to tell him he had lost his job.

On the plus side, this saved Postecoglou from some brain-numbing questions from the media in the post-match press conference. Before the game, he had responded with a strong statement that the team was still on the right track, and that he had a habit of winning titles in his second season. Unfortunately, at Forest, he is not even into his second month.

The Chelsea game was only Postecoglou’s third time in the home dressing room as Forest manager (the other four were away games). And his final act in that role was to return to the dressing room to share a few words with the players. He said he regretted not being able to do more for them and wished them all the best for the rest of the season.

Postecoglou regrets not being able to do more for the players.

Having said that, Postecoglou headed for the car park and got into his car and left the City Ground at 2:40 p.m. (UK time). The 39-day reign officially ended with Forest's statement of exactly 39 words. By chance or by design, each word represented a day of his short tenure.

Postecoglou was appointed largely because he was a friend of President Marinakis, who was impressed by his Europa League triumph with Tottenham. But Forest's performances over the past 39 days have left Marinakis with no choice but to sack him.

There is growing evidence that Postecoglou can repeat the 17th place finish he took Tottenham to last season. He has failed to win a single game, let alone the title. Forest have also failed to keep a clean sheet, but have conceded 20 goals in eight games under Postecoglou.

Forest have conceded 20 goals in eight defeats under Postecoglou.

The eighth game against Chelsea saw owner Marinakis leave the City Ground after a few minutes of the second half, with Forest conceding two quick goals. The chairman had expected something different, after a positive first half performance. But the dream was quickly shattered. The team collapsed in the same way, with inconsistency and a tendency to make mistakes.

Forest never gave Postecoglou an ultimatum that he would lose his job if he failed again. Marinakis, however, is never afraid to make snap decisions. Nor does the Forest chairman like to be in this position. He usually passes instructions to the manager through the director of football. But Ross Wilson, the former director of football, moved to Newcastle United last week, so technical director George Syrianos has had to do the job.

Marinakis no longer believes in Postecoglou's promises, as the Australian coach still tells his players that "I am a winner", and "as long as the players believe in his methods, success will come".

Kewell appreciated his former boss's methods.

It’s hard to say the players don’t trust Postecoglou. The Athletic reports that there’s very little opposition to him in the dressing room. The players have a positive impression of him, because he’s friendly and has a lot of confidence. While at Tottenham the 60-year-old coach preferred to observe from the sidelines rather than enter the training ground, at Forest he’s more involved.

Unfortunately for Postecoglou, the influence of his predecessor, Nuno Espirito Santo, remains. The players loved Nuno and were still shocked when he was sacked. Meanwhile, the difference Postecoglou has made is huge. Training sessions are much more intense than before because Postecoglou wants his players to adapt to a high pressing style and a constant tempo.

The transition between the two styles takes time, and with an attitude still belied by his former boss, Forest were not ready for Angel-ball, then struggled to escape defeat. So expectations turned to disappointment. Postecoglou had to go.

“It’s tough, but that’s football,” Kewell exclaimed after his former coach lost his job. But that’s how modern football works. Kewell himself understands this better than anyone after leaving Notts County, Oldham Athletic, Barnet and Yokohama F. Marinos.

Football club owners love to show off, but what they need most is results.