Nottingham Forest are heading into a crunch stage of the season, with big games fast approaching on the horizon on two fronts.
The Reds are through to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, with a date against Premier League giants Liverpool to come a week on Sunday.
And they are still battling to finish in the Championship play-offs. Steve Cooper’s side are currently in 10th spot, five points below the top-six ahead of hosting Reading at the City Ground this weekend.
There was plenty to discuss when Reds reporter Sarah Clapson held a live Q&A on our Forest Facebook page.
Q: What about the rumours Bayern Munich are interested in Spence?
A: Not many clubs aren’t interested in Spence at the moment - high-profile ones at least! He has got a long list of suitors.
There’s barely a Premier League club which hasn’t been linked with him yet, and he’s got a few abroad looking in his direction, too.
It’s understandable. He’s been outstanding this season and has put in so many eye-catching performances.
It’s a case of enjoying watching him while we can at Forest, making the most of him while he’s at the club and hoping he can get the team to where they want to be.
He can make the difference in some big games between now and the end of the season, both in the league and the cup.
He seems to thrive on the big stage, like he did against Leicester City and Arsenal in the FA Cup. Those types of games seem to give him an extra edge. I’m sure it will be the same again against Liverpool.
It’s going to be great to see how Spence and Brennan Johnson fare in that quarter-final match. There’s no reason why they can’t cause Liverpool problems, just like they have so many other teams this season.
When it comes to the summer, though, he’s going to have so many clubs after him. He’ll have his pick of where to go, and Middlesbrough will almost be able to charge what they want for him.
Even if Forest go up, I’m not so sure it changes the picture much - even though he is clearly enjoying his time at the City Ground. He would cost a heck of a lot of money and there are some really big clubs after him. That price tag only seems to be going up with every performance, too.
He’s destined for big things.
Q: Does Ethan Horvath deserve to keep his place in goal? He’s not put a foot wrong since being called upon.
A: That was Steve Cooper’s point after Monday night, that Horvath hadn’t done anything wrong to merit leaving him out. He said he wouldn’t have known what to say to Horvath, if he’d not started him.
It would have been harsh for him to drop back to the bench, with the way he’d performed.
I still think it’s a difficult decision over who to go with for the rest of the season.
There’s no doubt Brice Samba is a great goalkeeper. He’s up there with the best in the division. But those moments of madness he’s prone to do count against him.
You’d hope these last few games have given him a chance to think about that.
Maybe Monday’s decision also sent out a bit of a message to Samba from the manager, making the point that his rival has come in and done a good job so he can’t afford to have those lapses if he wants to get back in.
I would probably stick with Horvath for Saturday. He’s grasped his opportunity with both hands, and Forest look just as solid with him in goal as they do with Samba. If you’re picking players on form, he’s got the shirt at the moment.
Samba does have the edge when it comes to the better distribution. But Horvath has got better at that in the games he’s played. He does make me nervous when he has the ball at his feet, but he’s a very good shot-stopper. He’s also a very different character to Samba.
It’s going to be interesting to see whether there’s a long-term change, and what that means come the summer. I can’t imagine Samba would be happy with being second-choice, but Horvath came to Forest to play, too.
Either way, it’s a really big decision for team selection on Saturday.
Q: It would be great to hear positive news on the stadium redevelopment. We need the extra allocation.
A: It’s still just a case of waiting for planning approval at the moment. But Forest are hopeful that it will come soon.
And the council have said they continue to work with the club to try to iron out any issues.
It was great to see approval granted for improvements at the training ground.
The manager is always focusing on the small details which can help Forest improve, and that will play a part in that. Those types of things can make a big difference when you’re a club striving to join the elite - it’s all about raising standards.
It’s just a case of being patient with the City Ground redevelopment. If and when it does come and the capacity is increased, I’m sure those seats will get snapped up.
Another sell-out on Saturday is fantastic. The support has been phenomenal this season.
The noise at home just keeps getting louder. It does give you goosebumps. And whenever we speak to players or Cooper, they all say what a difference it makes.
I can’t remember a time in recent years when there’s been such a buzz at the City Ground.
Q: When James Garner is pushed forward, we badly miss him. If he goes back to Manchester United then he has to be No.1 priority to replace. Ryan Yates needs a dynamic DM alongside him. Jack Colback is steady but just doesn’t offer this.
A: I do think Garner is better from deep, even though he can do a job in a more advanced role.
He can pull the strings more when he’s in that deeper position. It really makes the most of his great range of passing - as we saw on Monday night when he could have threaded the eye of a needle with that ball through to Yates in the build-up to Sam Surridge’s goal.
I think Colback has been fantastic this season too, though. It’s so competitive in the centre of the pitch.
It will be an area Forest need to look at in the summer, however.
The next step for Garner is probably going to be testing himself in the Premier League. He’s had two seasons in the Championship now and will no doubt be eager to try it out at the next level.
He seems to really be enjoying himself at Forest, though.
If the Reds do go up, maybe that will change the picture somewhat.
He’s going to be given a chance to train with Manchester United’s first-team squad in pre-season, initially at least, so they get chance to properly assess him. He’s certainly another young man with a bright future ahead of him.
If he doesn’t come back, Forest do need to find someone who can do a similar job to Garner.
