Buoyed by last weekend’s win over Leeds United, Nottingham Forest now have a couple of important away games on the horizon.
The Reds are keen to improve their form on the road, having picked up six points from 10 games so far this season. First up is a trip to Fulham on Saturday (3pm kick-off), with another journey to the capital later this month to face West Ham United - either side of Manchester City visiting the City Ground.
Currently six points above the relegation zone, it could be a big few weeks for Steve Cooper’s side. Ahead of the clash at Craven Cottage, here’s our take on the latest goings-on Trentside.
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Fulham reminder
Coming up against Fulham stirs up a few different memories. It doesn’t seem long ago that Cooper was bursting past a line of police officers to celebrate with the away end after Philip Zinckernagel’s winner.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, there’s this season’s reverse fixture at the City Ground. Forest were in a different place back then - three goals in six minutes in a second half capitulation for a 3-2 defeat told the story of their first few weeks of the campaign.
“Thanks for the reminder,” Cooper joked when it was put to him that his team have come a long way in the intervening months, as last weekend’s clean-sheet against Leeds showed. His wider response demonstrates why the Reds continue to improve, though. It sums up Cooper’s mentality perfectly.
“It (solidity against Leeds) is a sign of where we want to go, for sure,” he said. “I don’t want to talk like we’re at the end point here or we’re at the level where we think we’ve cracked it. We’ve got a lot of work to do.
“At that time, we were going through a spell where we were conceding a lot of goals. That was a little bit extreme - three goals in six minutes. There was some stuff we had to address, and I feel that we have.
“But we’ve got to keep that going. Just because we’ve had some clean-sheets or we’ve been stable in games, in terms of defending, doesn’t mean we can just turn up to the next one and it’s going to reappear. We have to start again.
“Every individual has to think about their role and commit to it, support their teammates and play our way. That gives us the chance to succeed.
“We have had some good and bad experiences that we’ve had to learn from. Every time we’ve had a positive result, we’ve had to give everything. That’s a great reminder that if we want to win a game, we have to prepare right and give it our all.
“At the same time, when we’ve had negative results, it’s been pretty clear why. There’s some great stuff to compare back to about what it takes to succeed at this level.”
Sibling rivalry
Depending on how things pan out between now and May, it could be an interesting (or awkward) final day of the season for the Ayew family. The fixture schedule for May 28 caught the eye of the Reds’ most recent signing.
Forest will head to Crystal Palace on that day. The two teams are currently level on points, with Palace ahead on goal difference.
Andre Ayew is hoping that his new team have made sure of Premier League survival by that point. Not least because he knows what to expect from a Palace side featuring his brother, Jordan.
“Hopefully, that’s what we want! It will be important,” said the Reds forward. “We know that Palace is a tough stadium. It will be difficult, so we wouldn’t want to go there and be fighting for a place. But if it is, then it means we’re still in it and we’ll go for it. But it will be better if we get there and we’re safe.
“We (the Ayew brothers) are very close. He knew the options that were around. When I said Forest, he knew already I was going to come here. He’s very happy for me to be back in the Premier League and showcase what I can do in the best league in the world again.”
O’Brien situation
As of yet, no word from the English Football League over Blackburn Rovers’ appeal with regards to Lewis O’Brien. It means the midfielder remains in limbo, following the collapse of his deadline day move to Ewood Park.
An EFL board meeting is believed to have taken place on Thursday, but there has been no news about a decision either way. There is no specific timescale for an outcome being reached, however, with the governing body dealing with such situations on a case by case basis.
According to our sister site, LancsLive, Rovers boss Jon Dahl Tomasson would not speak about O’Brien’s case in his pre-match press conference ahead of the weekend. He is said to have made clear his focus is on his side’s match against Watford.
Showing support
When the club announced a partnership with international charity UK for UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, in December, they stated it would be one which involved raising awareness as well as having a logo on the front of their shirts. And they have stayed true to their word.
“We are extremely proud to see the emergency relief efforts made by UK for UNHCR in the aftermath of the catastrophic earthquakes in Turkey and Syria,” said a club statement. “This partnership is all about raising awareness of the incredible and vital work UK for UNHCR are doing around the world. This, along with the financial donation the club made at the start of the partnership, is to support the relief work in response to global disasters such as the devastating events we’ve seen this week following the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.”
Supporters are encouraged to consider making a donation to help with the emergency relief effort. For more information, click here.
New fanzine
You can never have enough Forest content! And if you like the sound of an old school style print fanzine, a new one has just been launched.
The first issue of Oh Mist Rolling In will be on sale at each of the MSR newsagents in Nottingham ahead of the Manchester City game. Postal orders are also being taken. Follow @ohmistrolling on Twitter for details.
How should Forest line up against Fulham? Have your say in the comments below
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