Mark Warburton has only won one of his four Nottingham Forest games (as Huddersfield Town fans will know) – but he promises to bring far more than results.
Despite Mark Warburton’s superb track record at Brentford, taking them from League One into the Championship play-offs, his appointment still constituted a major risk for Nottingham Forest.
After all, it’s not like Warburton has ever taken the helm in a relegation battle. Yet, he is inspiring a late-season surge in the only way he knows how – by calling upon his esteemed tactical nous and encouraging some of the division’s most eye-catching football.
On Saturday, Nottingham Forest deservedly beat third-place Huddersfield Town 2-0 at the City Ground, with goals from Eric Lichaj and Jamie Ward lifting the East Midlands giants five points clear of the relegation zone. But this was no smash-and-grab, backs-against-the-wall triumph.
Warburton’s Forest dominated from the off, their intuitive passing football some of the best seen at Nottingham Forest for many a year – while a new-look three man backline allowed them to build from the back and stretch the pitch.
This against a Huddersfield side renowned for their ability to kill off opponents via their high-pressing asphyxiation.
And Huddersfield boss David Wagner, himself a student of ‘good football’, could hardly hide his admiration for Warburton’s Forest.
“They surprised us with their set up. They surprised us. We were not expecting that,” the German told the club’s official website.
“We were not able to handle that. We were not able to make the right decisions. Forest had a three-man back line and were overloading the midfield. We were not able to catch them and close the gaps.”
“This defeat is still totally a defeat which we deserved.”
While Warburton may be no relegation specialist, this is what he has brought to Nottingham Forest – an ability to surprise, out-think and out-manoeuvre rival tacticians, rather than falling back on demanding passion and hard-work.
Warburton is not merely the man to keep Nottingham Forest up. He is the man to take the club forward.
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