Head coach Steve Cooper says Nottingham Forest’s approach will not change as they prepare for their City Ground decider with Sheffield United.
The teams meet on the banks of the Trent on Tuesday night to battle it out for a place at Wembley and a chance of promotion to the Premier League. The Reds are 2-1 ahead, going into the second leg of the play-offs semi-final, and will have the crowd behind them as they try to finish off the Blades.
But there will be no sitting back trying to defend their lead. And Cooper has made clear being at home, as well as being in front in the tie, can only work in Forest’s favour if they make the most of the opportunity.
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Injury latest
Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom has suggested star striker Billy Sharp could be involved in the play-off semi-final second-leg clash with Nottingham Forest on Tuesday.
Sharp missed the first-leg of the play-off clash, which Forest won 2-1, at Bramall Lane due to a calf injury which has kept him sidelined for a number of weeks. Before that the 36-year-old front-man had spent time in the treatment room for a hamstring injury.
Despite spending the final month of the season out of the squad, Sharp remains the Blades' top-scorer with 15 goals and seven assists in all competitions. His contributions up-front are a key part of why the Yorkshire outfit finished in the Championship's top six spots.
Speaking in the build-up to the second-leg, Heckingbottom confirmed that long-term absentees Jayden Bogle and Rhian Brewster would remain unavailable; he was more secretive when it came to Sharp, however.
Decisions made
Young duo Baba Fernandes and Josh Barnes are set to leave Nottingham Forest this summer, Under-23s head coach Andy Reid has confirmed.
Barnes has been at the club since he was eight years old, having progressed throughout the youth levels at the Nigel Doughty Academy. The 20-year-old midfielder spent a short time with Truro City on-loan in non-league having first penned a professional contract back in 2019.
The young left-sided midfielder signed an extension to his deal last summer and featured in the first-team set-up under Chris Hughton before his loan to Cornwall. Barnes has been a fairly constant figure in Reid's Under-23s squad this season, making 13 starts in 23 appearances as the young Reds finished fourth in the Premier League 2 Division 2.
Barnes is set to depart Forest alongside central defender Fernandes. The 22-year-old central defender has been another mainstay in the young Reds' defence this season, contributing one goal in 15 appearances, and was also in the first-team picture in pre-season before the start of the current campaign.
Celebration claims
Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom claims Nottingham Forest celebrated as if they were going to Wembley when they made it 2-0 at Bramall Lane.
Jack Colback and Brennan Johnson had put the Reds in front in Saturday’s play-offs semi-final first leg, with the latter netting in front of the away end with 20 minutes to go. But Steve Cooper’s side could have been out of sight, with the number of chances they created in the first half alone.
Sander Berge kept the tie alive with a late header to make it 2-1 ahead of Tuesday night’s return clash. And Heckingbottom wants his team to quickly get on the scoresheet again at the City Ground, to “change the complexion” of the contest.
“You see the body language,” he told the Sheffield Star. “We’re coming off and we didn’t look as defeated.
