Ange Postecoglou cut a solitary figure as he stood apart from his players and applauded the Nottingham Forest fans perched high in the Leazes End. His team had just extended their winless run to seven games under his charge yet as the Australian turned on his heel and strode towards the tunnel scratching his head, it seemed a little early for goodbyes.
True, with talks with Forest’s board scheduled for this week, the manager’s future by the Trent seems as opaque as a fog on the Tyne, but it would surely be faintly ridiculous to sack him now, barely a month after succeeding Nuno Espírito Santo.
Creditable performances alone can take a manager only so far but Forest’s latest defeat did feature some much-improved defensive organisation allied to the sort of sensible tactical pragmatism that succeeded in frustrating Newcastle during a low-key first half. Postecoglou looked a man alone at the final whistle but there was nothing to suggest his team have stopped playing for him.
Significantly he deployed a back five for the first time in his Forest tenure; indeed it was only the second time the former Tottenham manager has used this starting system in the Premier League.
Ultimately Newcastle upped their game with an eye-catching goal from Bruno Guimarães and a Nick Woltemade penalty offering Eddie Howe’s team a restorative second league victory of a season they are gradually growing into but it was no walk in the park against that defensive quintet.
