Nottingham Forest Under 23s coach Andy Reid says he would have liked the club’s place in the Championship play-offs to have been confirmed before their match with Barnsley on Sunday afternoon, so that they could have rested players ahead of that possible promotion bid.
Swansea’s 1-0 win over Bristol City at The Liberty Stadium on Saturday afternoon, means that Forest make the trip to Oakwell to face relegation-threatened Barnsley on Sunday, knowing they still need at least a point to guarantee their place in the Championship’s top-six.
That is a challenge it seems Reid believes his side would have preferred not to have to deal with, but admits the fact they do have to get a result, is part of the nature of the Championship.
Speaking about Saturday’s results and what they mean for Forest, Reid was quoted by Nottinghamshire Live as telling BBC Radio 5Live: “You can’t feel relaxed. It’s not the kind of season for feeling relaxed about anything.
“It would have been nice if the Swansea result wasn’t what it was. If Forest were definitely in the play-offs it might have influenced team selection.”
Should Forest be relying on other results in the play-off race?Yes
No
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Discussing how already being in the play-offs might have impacted on that team selection, Reid continued: “You want your top players firing. The sooner you can confirm your place you’re looking at team management. Who can we rest? Who can we give a bit of game to to get them up to speed?
“It’s never as simple as that in football is it?”
In all honesty, this shouldn’t be too much of an issue if Forest secure their place in the play-offs against Barnsley.
Should they do that, they would then be able to rotate their squad for that clash to Stoke on the final day, meaning that their key players could still have a week off before the play-offs get underway next weekend.
The length of that break would be a considerable one in comparison to the Saturday-Tuesday schedule clubs have been playing to almost since the season resumed, and getting over the line here could provide a confidence-boosting three points for Forest ahead of the play-offs, given the wins have dried up somewhat in recent weeks.
We shouldn’t even be in this position and more concerned with automatic promotion, but the lack of consistency has once again proved our downfall. You could blame poor refereeing for some of the results, but every team suffers that at some stage in the season. We have let teams off the hook by not pressing home the advantage when in control. We have switched off at the end of games and dropped 2 points on far too many occasions – the recent Derby match being an annoying example of both of those.
Played magnificently one week and then looked like a bunch of strangers the game after. The Leeds win followed by the Charlton loss being the one that sticks in the mind, but there were others obviously. Going right back to the first game of the season, that was a tight 1-0 win if we had a real goalkeeper playing! or a draw at the very least. The manager sticks with star players like Lolley, even when it’s clear they’re not having a good game. Waiting for one moment of magic is a risky tactic and more likely to be provided by a fresh pair of legs IMO. Barring a complete disaster in the next two games, we have still made the playoffs and we all know how that usually pans out! Carvalho to finally earn some of his transfer fee? Or sniggers from Derby fans as we fail to reach the final?