Pragmatic approach fails to pay off as beaten Reds remain out of Toon

UNDER PRESSURE POSTECOGLOU USED MORE DEFENSIVE SYSTEM IN NORTH EAST, BUT SECOND-HALF BRUNO STRIKE AND WOLTEMADE PENALTY MEAN IT IS THREE DEFEATS IN WEEK FOR AUSTRALIAN

- By SARAH CLAPSON

Forest defender Nikola Milenkovic beats Newcastle's Dan Burn in an aerial challenge as Forest deal with a set-piece

A THIRD straight defeat piled the pressure on head coach Ange Postecoglou as Nottingham Forest fell to a 2-0 loss away to Newcastle United.

It is now seven games without a win for the Reds boss.

Second-half goals from Bruno Guimaraes and Nick Woltemade will likely leave owner Evangelos Marinakis with a decision to make about his future during the international break.

There was no getting away from the importance of the game for the Reds in the north east. A winless start to his tenure had left Postecoglou’s job firmly on the line going into yesterday's lunchtime clash.

Forest fans had turned on the 60-year-old in midweek, subjecting him to chants of ‘you're getting sacked in the morning’ during a 3-2 Europa League defeat to FC Midtjylland.

What should have been a celebratory occasion as European football returned to the City Ground for the first time in almost 30 years had turned ugly.