Glasner Says Rant Was Meant Positively After Forest Lost Four of Five

• Oliver Glasner says his outburst after Nottingham Forest’s defeat at Brentford was meant to be positive, per Sky Sports.
• Forest have won once this season and sit 19th in the Premier League, having lost four of their last five games.
• Glasner would not say what changes he has seen this week, and Forest face Manchester City on Saturday, kick-off 5.30pm.

Spa, Military or Something in Between: What Glasner Wants From Forest

Oliver Glasner has said where he wants the culture at Nottingham Forest to sit, and it is between two extremes. The head coach spoke at his press conference on Thursday, ahead of Saturday’s game against Manchester City.

“We are not a spa and wellness hotel, but we are also not the military, and we need to find the in between. I want to get every player having this intrinsic motivation to his game… I would like to be challenged by the players that they can ask: what can I improve?”

The comments come after a week in which Glasner’s outburst was the story. Forest lost at Brentford last weekend, and he went on two explosive rants, one in a broadcast interview and one in the post-match press conference. On Thursday he said his outburst was meant positively.

One Win, 19th and Two Rants

Forest have won once this season under Glasner, who arrived in the summer, and have lost four of their last five games. The defeat at the Gtech Community Stadium left them 19th in the Premier League. Glasner had already argued that Forest deserve more after five defeats in eight games.

After the Brentford game, Glasner said:

“We have to accept it’s not good enough. If we lose four of the last five games, it’s not good enough. And that’s why for me, it’s now time that we change things, that I change things, and that’s what I will do.”

“I feel now maybe I made too many compromises in some stuff, and it’s always compromises. It’s a clear way. I will tell [the players] what we want to do, what we have to do, and if the players buy in, I think we can have a turnaround, and if not, the sixth manager [since the start of last season] will come in.”

The second quote is the line that became the buy in or leave story.

Why He Says He Did It

On Thursday Glasner explained why he reacted as he did, adding that if you do not point out problems, things cannot begin to change.

“This is just how I am. If I see things I don’t like, I will let you know and if I see things I really like, I will let you know as well,” he said.

“If I feel I need to shake things up, then I will. If I feel I need to keep quiet, then I will.”

“With the four or five games we lost, I can’t continue telling the same story – ‘good start, well played, missed chances, making mistakes, losing. OK, on to next week’.”

“That’s also why I needed to change what I’m telling and to be aware of things because otherwise maybe we will always keep going in the same way, and we’ll think ‘oh, why don’t things change?’ and that was the reason.”

He said he did not go after anyone directly.

“I didn’t attack somebody directly, but it’s all about what we all share. We share that we want to be successful, that we want to win games and that we are doing better than we did.”

“That’s why there was not a problem. It was much louder outside than I felt it was inside.”

“This is just how I see a relationship has to be… if you don’t say something, the other person will never know.”

“Then I can’t blame somebody because if they don’t know, how can things change? We are now in a society where maybe criticism or the way I talked was in a negative way, but the intention is positive.”

“The intention is to change something and get better results, then we all have a better life.”

A Good Training Week and a Las Vegas Answer

Asked about the reaction to the weekend outburst, Glasner said:

“A good training week – this was the consequence. This is what I hope, what we all expected from each other to try hard, to get better results at the end.”

He refused to be drawn on what exact changes he has seen this week, adding:

“It’s like Las Vegas – what happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas”

He did offer one small elaboration.

“Maybe I’m doing a bit more talking to the players in general and talking to them individually… but it’s always in a positive way.”

“This is what I want everyone to understand. I never do anything to punish somebody, why should I? But it’s either to shake things up or to tell somebody what we need to improve. It’s clear for everyone that we need to improve, especially our results. That was why I reacted in that way.”

On the team’s performances, Glasner said:

“It’s not that our performances are disastrous, I just feel that some bits are missing.”

“We have shown the players what we can improve, but to get these final bits… if mistakes repeatedly happen, it’s a pattern.”

“If it’s not a tactical bit, it’s something different – is it focus, is it concentration?”

“In my experience, if you’re not focused and concentrated outside the pitch, that can be repeated on it as well. If you are maybe a little bit sloppy in taking your chances in training, then maybe you are a bit sloppy during the game.”

“That’s what I’m talking about. Saturday, we have the next chance. Playing Man City will be a huge challenge, but I’m still very positive because I see how the players work in training, I see our performance.”

“We’re not far away from getting what we all want and that’s what we will try on Saturday.”

Culture and Motivation

Asked whether he was surprised to be having these conversations with players, Glasner replied:

“I’m not surprised… One of the biggest goals I have is to create a culture and an environment where you want to be, but where you also want to work hard.”

He added that he wants the push to come from the squad as well.

“Because everything that comes from the players, it’s 100 times more worth it than when it comes from the manager or from the staff. Sometimes it seems to be that it always has to come from the coaching side.”

The Pressure Around Glasner

Glasner’s position was under scrutiny in October, when one win and an impatient owner put the pressure on him. Forest are still on one win and 19th in the Premier League.

On Saturday, Forest face Manchester City, kick-off 5.30pm. Glasner says the players are working hard in training and that the gap to the results he wants is small.