Colin’s Glimer Of Hope

The Reds will bring the curtain down on their programme of League One fixtures at The City Ground tomorrow in the knowledge they could still secure automatic promotion.

Forest will finish in the top two if they win and Bristol City fail to beat relegated Rotherham at Ashton Gate.

Victory for City would send Forest into the play-offs but manager Calderwood is in a positive frame of mind ahead of what is likely to be a nail-biting afternoon.

He told the official website: ‘We’re in a situation that is enjoyable because there’s nothing for us to be afraid off.

‘We’re only really looking at the possibility of success and because of that it’s exciting, it lifts you and it drives you on.

‘The players are desperate for the game itself to come around and everyone will be desperate to see what the final whistle brings.

‘I know that come 3 o’clock tomorrow The City Ground will be jumping because we have a chance.

‘We are dictated to by what happens down at Ashton Gate but we’re going into the game in a positive frame of mind and we’ve got to make sure we stay positive beyond Saturday evening if the play-offs are required.’

Calderwood added: ‘City have a game that are entitled to win and they should win but if they don’t, we’ve got to make sure we take three points to bypass them.

‘The fact that they now have to win the game leads to all sorts of different thought processes but we’ll leave them to think about what problems they might encounter.’

To stand any chance of gate-crashing the top two Forest must overcome a Crewe side who will be looking to send manager Dario Gradi off on a high note.

Calderwood is a keen admirer of Gradi, who has been in charge of the club for 24 years and will move ‘upstairs’ this summer to become their Technical Director.

‘Dario is what young managers like myself should aspire to be rather than the foreign managers who have the top jobs in this country,’ he said.

‘What he has achieved he has done with his own foresight, knowledge and ability. He transformed a club that was always near the bottom of the league structure into a team that held it’s own in the Championship for many years.’

Source: www.nottinghamforest.co.uk