Sabri Lamouchi’s Forest claimed a creditable draw away at Championship rivals Bristol City on Saturday but are they really Premier League bound?
Bristol City coach Lee Johnson is convinced that Nottingham Forest will be a genuine promotion contender this season after Saturday’s goalless draw between the two Championship rivals at Ashton Gate, speaking to Bristol Live.
The Robins and Forest have proven to be very difficult to beat in recent months so it was perhaps no real surprise that an intriguing weekend clash ended in a stalemate.
Sabri Lamouchi will certainly have been the happier of the coaches, however, given that the East Midland giants had to play the final half hour with ten men after Ryan Yates copped a straight red thanks to a horrific two-footed lunge.
Nottingham Forest were far from their best all game long but they still managed to produce the kind of tenacious, well-drilled display which has come to epitomise them under the former Rennes and Ivory Coast boss.
And Johnson believes that the perennial underachievers are finally in a position to fight for a return to the Premier League this season.
“Yeah (they are contenders), I think they’re strong,” he said.
“There’s big money been spent. They’ve got a lot of players and they’re very organised. They’re a good side.”
Recruitment has hardly been one of Forest’s strong suits in recent years but the summer transfer window has been almost an unmitigated success so far.
The likes of Brice Samba and Samba Sow, championed by head of recruitment Jose Anigo, have been revelations while Yuri Ribeiros, Tiago Silva and Alfa Semedo have made a big impact too. It just goes to show what a difference a few clever signings can make.
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