A late-season breather with Nottingham Forest could prove to be beneficial for Brennan Johnson, according to Wales boss Rob Page.
Johnson was an integral figure on the way to the Reds securing Premier League survival. He looked at home in the top-flight as he featured in every one of Forest’s 38 league games.
But having made more than 50 appearances for three successive campaigns, he had appeared a little jaded at times in the closing weeks. He was on the bench for two of the Reds’ final three matches, coming on as a substitute against Chelsea and Arsenal as head coach Steve Cooper tweaked his formation.
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“You have to manage the pressure on your players and it’s probably not the worst thing that he’s found himself out of the team for the last few games,” Page said ahead of Wales' Euro 2024 home qualifier against Armenia on Friday. “Because he scored so many goals, and because he is a constant threat – one of the best counterattacking footballers in the Premier League – he set a precedent.
“But you can get a level of inconsistency of performance with your players and it certainly won’t have harmed him in any way to have missed a few games at Forest. He has to manage that when he gets a little dip in form.”
Johnson was absent for Wales during the international break in March, when their qualifying campaign began, due to injury. At the time, Page suggested Forest had not done enough to get him fit for international duty.
“You are always going to miss your best players, but we had to ask others to step up to the plate and the two performances against Croatia and Latvia were outstanding,” said Page, whose squad have been together at a Portugal training camp. “To finish off the Latvia game with the highest percentage possession we’ve had in the last five years shows we’ve got rid of the disappointment of the World Cup.
“The players are embracing what we’re asking them to do moving forward and it suits the players. They also enjoy playing that way.
“While I was happy with the Latvia performance and how we controlled the game, that final detail at the top of the pitch is where we need to improve. Having Brennan back fit, and Daniel James, Harry Wilson and David Brooks available is only going to help us achieve that.
“With the personnel we’ve got, we can have two or three different formations without any problem. The game plan might change within a game, but having players like Brennan will give us the opportunity to get higher up the pitch and score more goals. We’ve got some good players and the problem now is finding out how to get them all into the same team.”
Johnson is joined in the Wales squad by Reds teammates Neco Williams and Wayne Hennessey. After facing Armenia, they take on Turkey in Samsun on Monday.
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