Former Nottingham Forest midfielder Lewis McGugan is thrilled to see Joe Worrall thriving in the Premier League after his early season struggles.
Worrall was named club captain the summer but was left out of seven matches following a difficult start to the season. He has been in excellent form since returning against Tottenham in the Carabao Cup, helping Forest keep four clean sheets in seven games in all competitions.
Speaking on the Garibaldi Red podcast, McGugan said it was fair to leave Worrall out after a slow start to the season, but any number of players could have been dropped at the time and it was easier to take Worrall out of the side given his mentality.
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"First and foremost you are there to defend. People, the first thing they look at is are you good on the ball and the last is can you defend? You're there to keep goals out. I'm really happy for Joe.
"Earlier in the season I felt he was getting unfair criicism and was a scapegoat, a bit of a fall guy because the whole team was underperforming. At that time I think the manager was juggling and trying to find something.
"At times it's an easy option to leave Joe out. I'm so happy Joe came back in and did well. At this point he's the future of Nottingham Forest.
"The biggest thing he does - he heads it and kicks it. You see Willy Boly is out now and Scott McKenna is back in. Sometimes a spell out of the team can help. You see things differently. The start of the Premier League was a whirlwind.
"The manager has now got a team that he is confident with. There will be changes with injuries, suspensions and keeping the attack fresh, but he's got a squad now.
"It was easier to leave Joe out because he's a good lad, a good pro. Everyone knows his affiliation to the club.
"I might be wrong about this, but sometimes as a manager you know won't get a bad reaction from a player at a time when you need to make changes and look at different things. You don't want to add another headache.
"Everyone knows running power isn't Joe's biggest strength. He knows that but there was a bandwagon where everyone said it's the Premier League and every striker is quick. He's not mobile enough.
"It was topic that was bigger than it needed to be."
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