Nottingham Forest make the trip to Tottenham Hotspur this weekend looking to improve their miserable away form.
The business end of the season is fast approaching and it remains incredibly tight at the bottom end of the table. Steve Cooper’s side have two more games to play before the international break, and they will be keen to ensure they go into it still well placed to retain their Premier League status.
With plenty to talk about ahead of Saturday’s clash in the capital, Reds reporter Sarah Clapson held a live Q&A on our Forest Facebook page. Here’s how it panned out.
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Q: When is Sam Surridge going to get his chance?
A: I’ve said before, I’d love to see Surridge getting more minutes. He’s got plenty to offer and has generally done well whenever he’s been given an opportunity.
I felt for him on Sunday, not getting off the bench, but the subs who did come on did well. Andre Ayew had a decent chance and Emmanuel Dennis was pretty positive.
It’s always a tough call for any manager over how many and what substitutions to make during a game. Sometimes, using up the full quota just because you can doesn’t always work in the right way.
It was difficult for Surridge at West Ham, too. He came on for the final few minutes when the game was already well and truly over.
He’s just got to keep his head down, keep working hard and trying to earn a chance. And then when he does get an opportunity, try to make the most of it.
He can still have a part to play in the final games. Forest are going to need everybody, and Cooper needs different options. Surridge just has to be patient and be ready whenever the time comes.
Q: We can’t play for a draw away from home anymore, it’s not working. We’ve got to go there and play with an attacking team. Keep Morgan Gibbs-White and Brennan Johnson creating chances. I believe this is going to the wire.
A: The away form needs to change somehow. But picking up draws away from home would still be good results. Any point on the road has to be a good one, particularly with the position Forest are in and the fact they have struggled to even get draws.
Just turning the away form around with a point - and a goal or two - would be something to build on. Doing that with the games they’ve got coming up isn’t going to be easy, though.
The West Ham game showed the fine line Cooper faces when it comes to setting up the team on the road. He made positive, attacking substitutions at 0-0 in an attempt to win the game and the changes ended up going the other way.
With the benefit of hindsight, most people now would probably have been happy with a scrappy 0-0 in that one, rather than going all out for the win. I can completely see why Cooper made the changes he did, though.
Going to Tottenham, Forest have to set up to be tight and hard to beat. That’s not being negative, it’s just trying to deal with the threat they pose. Spurs might not always have had the best of results this season and there’s talk about Antonio Conte’s future, but they are still a really good side. Be too open and Forest run the risk of being picked off. If they can just get even a point there, it would be an absolutely brilliant result.
Agree about it going to the wire. It’s going to be really close. I can see it going down to the last few games, and maybe even the last day. April is going to be a massive month.
Forest are still well placed. It’s in their hands and no doubt the six teams below would happily swap places with them at the minute.
Q: Best signing? Morgan Gibbs-White?
A: Absolutely. He’s got so much quality and is just going to keep getting better. He’s got bags of potential. He might have been a club record signing, but he’s still proving to be a bargain. It will be no surprise if he’s on Gareth Southgate’s England radar.
The link between him and Brennan Johnson is a really dangerous one, and crucial for Forest. With those two on the pitch, there’s always a chance of creating something and scoring a goal.
Q: Players coming back to fitness after the international break will help.
A: Definitely. Cooper always makes the point that he doesn’t want to complain about the amount of injuries or see it as an excuse, but the number of players missing has undoubtedly had an impact. It’s limited the manager’s options.
It’s not just the quantity of players on the sidelines, it’s that they are key players, too. Players who were in good form prior to getting injured.
Taiwo Awoniyi has been a big miss. He’d really hit his stride prior to getting injured. Ryan Yates has been a massive miss, too, so it was great to see him back on Sunday - and he made a difference when he came on. Cheikhou Kouyate had been excellent prior to getting injured, too.
Cooper said on Sunday that Awoniyi, Moussa Niakhate and Kouyate are not too far away. Getting those three back soon will be a huge boost, and then with more players to follow. Having big players back just as the run-in approaches could prove vital.
Q: I feel if we stay up, in the summer the signings now need to be quality not quantity. We have a squad now, need to bring in three or four top signings instead. But we need to stay up first.
A: A lot of what happens in the summer will depend which division Forest are in. Whatever happens, it won’t be on the same scale as last year - that was completely a one-off. There will be some changes made either way, though.
The owner is very ambitious. If Forest do stay up, he will want to kick on again. To do that will require further investment in the playing squad.
Decisions will need to be made about some fringe players who haven’t seen too much game time and over those whose contracts expire at the end of the season. But there is the basis of a good squad already there.
What’s really exciting is that the nucleus of the squad is also built around talented young players who are only going to keep getting better. There’s a lot of potential in the group.
Even the likes of Neco Williams, who has been up and down, will benefit from the experience of this year. Likewise those players a little bit older but who are experiencing the Premier League for the first time, in Yates, Joe Worrall and Scott McKenna.
You could add Danilo and Gustavo Scarpa to that, too. They might not be playing as much as they would like at the minute, but they’ll be much the better for this experience.
It’s going to be a big summer however this season pans out. But Forest already have the foundations of a good squad to build on.
Where will Forest finish in the table? Have your say in the comments below
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