Nottingham Forest striker Lewis Grabban has revealed what has changed for the club under manager Sabri Lamouchi.
Grabban, who has scored seven times in the Championship so far this season, was recently talking to the Nottingham Post about what changes the club’s new manager has brought this season.
He said: “The manager wants me to do so well. He backs me. If I score one, he wants me to score two. If I score two, he wants me to score three and so forth. It’s just encouragement.
“There’s no point saying you’re the perfect player or anything like that because it wouldn’t be true. Striving for more is key. We want to get promoted this season.
“We want every player to be at the top of their game. He tries to put that across whether it be in the media or one to one.”
Serial goal-getter
Grabban is now 31-years-old and has acquired years of experience by having plied his trade with the likes of Bournemouth, Norwich City, Sunderland, Rotherham and Aston Villa.
He joined Forest in the summer of 2018 from the Cherries for a fee of about £6million. Since joining, the Englishman has played 56 times in all competitions for the club from the City Ground. He has found the back of the net 24 times since then.
In the Championship last season, he had scored 16 goals in 39 league appearances and helped the club finish ninth in the league – just eight points behind Frank Lampard’s sixth-placed Derby County (Sky Sports).
His tally of seven goals in the highest under Lamouchi this season at Forest, with Joe Lolley second with three goals. Albert Adomah, Ben Watson, Sammy Ameobi and Matt Cash have all scored two goals each as well.
TIF Tactics
Numbers clearly show that Grabban is Forest’s prime goalscorer. But it is also worth noting that the lack of depth in the attacking areas could soon be a problem for the club. Rafa Mir is the second-choice striker and he has just one assist to his name, having played 138 minutes of football so far.
With games set to come thick and fast once the international break ends at the weekend, every side will need depth to catch up with when they play extra games. Forest are likely to come up short in that department.
Despite being fifth in the league, Lamouchi’s men have scored only 20 goals – the sixth lowest in the Championship. That isn’t a promising number for a club that wants promotion into the Premier League.
While Grabban can’t be faulted for that lack of depth, the club should look to sign an extra striker in the upcoming January transfer window to help take some of the pressure that the 31-year-old may be feeling on his shoulders.