Ange Postecoglou delivered a simple message during his first audience with his new players at Nottingham Forest: I am here to win the Europa League.
As The Athletic reported in September, the City Ground hierarchy had appointed him to do exactly that. They believed that he was capable of doing so, after he had only left Tottenham following an open-topped bus parade to celebrate their success in that very competition last year.
Ultimately, Postecoglou departed the City Ground after 39 days, without even winning a game, never mind a trophy. He didn’t even manage to win over fans.
Partly because of such things, his replacement, Sean Dyche, took on the role with a more nuanced set of priorities in October.
Forest’s position was perilous at the time of his appointment — they were in the bottom three, with the mood at a low ebb. This meant that Dyche’s initial goal was to ensure Forest did not have to look nervously over their shoulders, in the same way as Postecoglou’s Tottenham did when they finished 17th, while focusing on Europe.
Forest’s immediate target still has to be to pull clear of the wrong end of the Premier League table. But after 38 days at the helm, Dyche has now won four, drawn two and lost only one of his games in charge, with the one defeat coming at Bournemouth in what was his first league game in charge. Dyche has swiftly had the air of somebody who is a good fit.
And on a nostalgic night on the banks of the River Trent, Dyche’s side produced evidence to suggest that they might just be capable of at least pushing to fulfil their more lofty ambitions, as well as the very necessary ones; that they might have the depth to progress in Europe too.
There are a few important caveats.
Malmo provided the opposition for Forest’s famous first European Cup win in 1979. That night, Trevor Francis ensured a shot put circle was forever engraved on the memories of fans of a certain age. Francis tumbled into one after heading home John Robertson’s cross to score the only goal in the final.
But more than four decades later — as many members of both of those teams looked on from the stands — there was a clear gulf in class as Forest won 3-0. Malmo had been expected to challenge for the title, but instead finished sixth in the Allsvenskan table during a Swedish league season that finished at the start of the month.
Before kick-off, Malmo had lost 16 of their last 20 matches in the Europa League (W1 D3). They rarely looked like altering that trajectory. But, despite making seven changes to the starting line-up that won in Liverpool, Forest never looked likely to veer from their own good form.
Sean Dyche hinted the Premier League was his priority (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
It was not always a spectacular performance, but it was an efficient, effective one. One that underlined the thought that, despite an increasingly long injury list, Forest might still have some strength in depth.
Dyche had hinted, in the build-up, that his priority was very much the league, after seeing Forest fight, for 23 years, to get back there.
“The thirst for this club to get back here, having watched that from afar, played here and managed here, was massive,” he said in a press conference. “You cannot forget that. Premier League football is massive for this club. It is the first season back in the Europa League and there is a thirst for success. The bigger picture is that the Premier League is still very dominant in the power that it has.”
With Brighton set to visit on Sunday, prior to a trip to Wolves next Wednesday, that mentality was reflected in Dyche’s team selection. He took the opportunity to rest players like Matz Sels, Neco Williams, Nicolo Savona, Elliot Anderson, Dan Ndoye and Igor Jesus by leaving them on the bench. A quartet of those were utilised — Williams, Anderson, Nodye and Jesus — as Forest saw the game out.
The other substitution saw 19-year-old academy product Jimmy Sinclair handed his first team debut on a night he will never forget. But a few other players you sensed might have needed a good night also very much had one.
James McAtee and Arnaud Kalimuendo both got valuable minutes. Forest agreed a package worth £30million to McAtee from Manchester City last summer, while Kalimuendo cost £26million from Rennes. Their price tags have not been reflected in their opportunities. McAtee has made only one Premier League start, along with three substitute appearances. Kalimuendo’s six league appearances have all been off the bench.
After scoring Forest’s second goal, Kalimuendo made a hash of his celebration, with his attempted knee slide hindered by some uncooperatively sticky turf. But the manner in which his teammates celebrated with him told a story of how pleased they were for him to get his first Forest goal. It will have been a welcome confidence boost.
McAtee had moments where he looked rusty, but they were outnumbered by moments of promise, with the attacking midfielder often linking up effectively with those around him. This included Brazilian defender Murillo, who looked to relish an unfamiliar left-back role, one that allowed him to indulge his attacking instincts. On the other side, young defender Zach Abbott thrived in similar circumstances, at right back.
Dyche will have learnt plenty about his squad. He will already have known about club captain Ryan Yates, who was involved in all three goals. You suspect he is a man whose qualities Dyche will appreciate.
Yates himself opened the scoring with a powerful low finish from the edge of the penalty area. Just before the break, Yates’ header was brilliantly saved, before Kalimuendo converted the loose ball from close range to make it 2-0. And a Yates drive was later converted by Nikola Milenkovic for the third. It hit the Serbian defender and fell perfectly for him to net.
Yates’s own strike means he has now scored on every single day of the week for Forest.
Brian Clough, the legendary figure who inspired those back-to-back European Cup successes, might have had a snappy retort to such a stat. You can imagine him uttering something along the lines of: “Well, I’d like to see him scoring a few more on a Saturday afternoon.”
For now, it is another straight-talking manager who is giving the club the ability to hope for a brighter future, too.