Oliver Glasner insists his struggling Nottingham Forest side cannot survive on “flower power” as he tries to find a combination of trust and respect from his squad.
Forest are 19th in the Premier League and winless and goalless at home in the top flight.
Last weekend’s 2-0 defeat at Brentford was a fourth defeat in five games as Glasner warned there would be no more compromises after his summer arrival, and he has underlined his standards.
“These are my two values I will never negotiate about, this is trust and respect,” he said.
“It can’t be one, so if it’s just respect, I would say that’s military. Then, after a few months of the national service, you are pleased when you can leave.
“When it’s just trust, it’s a flower power, just flying. Everybody can do what he wants and it’s nice and great – Woodstock – but it’s not high-performance Woodstock.
“Military is [high performance], to be honest, because otherwise this huge organisation couldn’t work, and I felt we had too much Woodstock.
“We need a good balance between Woodstock, having fun, but also military, high performance. That’s the most important thing, high performance, because that’s what we get paid for, that’s our job. If we have this – fly.”
When asked by BBC Sport if he should have told his players sooner Glasner said: “I always ask myself this question – should I have done it earlier?
“Of course, maybe two or three times I felt it’s time and then I thought ‘no, come on Oliver, be patient and maybe things change’.
“Then it seemed to be the same game [Brentford] like the last ones, so I felt I have to say it now because otherwise things won’t change.”
Glasner is not under immediate pressure and remains in close communication with the Forest hierarchy, with stability desired after four managers last season.
The 52-year-old has made a positive impression with his work and methods, even if there have been some obvious grumbles from players who are not playing, and there remains a desire to stay calm.
“I’m always in contact with the ownership,” Glasner said. “It’s not always Mr [Evangelos] Marinakis because he has other stuff to do, but there is his son [Miltiadis], George [Syrianos, chief football officer] and Pedro [Ferreira, technical director] here at the training ground, and Theodore [Giannikos] the CEO.
“There’s always communication – and that’s a good thing, because everybody understands better why I am how I am. I never say what’s best for Oliver Glasner, because I don’t feel important. I will always say what I believe is best for Nottingham Forest, for the club.
“I don’t like to accept things if I feel they are wrong. My addiction is to succeed with Nottingham Forest and, right now, I have failed. Then I get really upset with myself because I want to meet the expectations of the players, owner and the fans.
“Right now, I’ve failed and that’s why I blame myself most.”