Brennan Johnson has opened up about signing a new Nottingham Forest contract in the summer and the reason behind his recent upturn in form.
The forward fired in 18 goals to help propel the Reds to promotion but his form appeared to stutter in the early weeks of the season as his performances mirrored Steve Cooper ’s new-look side, scoring twice in his first 17 appearances. Forest's rocky run of form was typified by dramatic defeats to Bournemouth and Fulham.
However, the growing pains quietly eased for Forest, who have now lost just three of their last 12 league games, pushing the team to 14th in the table. Johnson has also enjoyed a revival of his own, registering five goal contributions in as many games, but admitted he may have been daunted by the challenge in the summer.
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Asked by journalist Ariel Helwani whether he had initially suffered from imposter syndrome, Johnson replied: “Yeah, I think so, I think that’s more of a confidence thing for me personally. When things aren’t going too well or you’re not scoring or not feeling like you’re having the impact that you want, you start to doubt yourself.
“You start to think if you’re ready for this league or this level but I think it just comes with confidence. The results have been getting better and my performances have been coming on leaps and bounds so definitely. Back then, I might have felt like I’m not sure if I belonged but since then it’s changed a lot.”
Following his exploits in the Championship, a flurry of Premier League sides were chasing Johnson’s signature. However, the academy graduate reaffirmed his commitment to the club by signing a new deal until 2026 and admitted that it was not a difficult decision to make.
Asked if he was ever close to leaving the club, Johnson said: “Not really, no. Obviously, there’s interest and talks going on but for me, as soon as I got back off my holiday, I was keen to sign here and wanted to extend my stay.
“I’ve worked all my life to get Forest promoted into the Premier League and to leave as soon as they get up, for me, wouldn’t be right. I wanted to experience the Premier League with Nottingham Forest and hopefully not just stay up but build year-by-year and get this club back to where it should be.”
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