Former Nottingham Forest manager Charlie McParland feels that the current campaign will go down as a failure if the club ends up missing out on promotion this season.
McParland, 59, was recently talking to Notts TV’s TeamTalk (via NottinghamPost) and he felt that this season presents a huge chance for the Reds to go back into the Premier League and if they don’t do it, it will be a failure.
He said: “It’s not a disaster, it’s a failure. I look at the league and the teams, for me, they’ll never get a better chance.
“There’s nobody running away with it at the minute, there’s nobody miles better than anybody else. There’s a great chance and this is a great chance this season. Nottingham Forest will not get a better chance.”
Big chance for promotion
Sabri Lamouchi took over the helm at Forest prior to the start of the current season from former manager Martin O’Neill. Since joining, he has proved that what he did with Rennes in France wasn’t a fluke. He had helped the club qualify for the Europa League in the 2017-18 Ligue 1 campaign.
As far as Forest go, they are fifth in the league and have a game in hand on the others. Lamouchi’s men are only five points behind league leaders West Bromwich Albion and face Bristol City in their next Championship clash.
Their last game had seen them pick up a compact 1-0 win over Derby County at City Ground in the East Midlands derby. They have won three of their last five games, losing to Wigan and Hull City.
The Reds had lost their first game of the season to West Brom but then went on a ten-game unbeaten run which saw them rise up to the top six of the Championship. This streak ended following a defeat to Wigan away from home.
TIF Tactics
Lamouchi has helped Forest make a difference defensively, more than the attacking side. Forest have the second-best defence in the Championship and have let in only 13 goals so far – only behind Leeds United who have scored just nine goals.
When it comes to the attack, that is where the Reds currently lack. While Lewis Grabban has scored nine goals in the Championship, there is a lack of depth in that area as Rafa Mir is yet to score in the league.
Because of this lack of depth, Forest have scored the sixth-lowest number of goals in the league. That isn’t a good number for anyone who wants to achieve promotion. As McParland says, it will be a failure if Forest don’t get promoted, and to make sure it doesn’t go down as a failure, they might need to sign a striker in January and bolster their attack.