The Reds caretaker manager spoke after the Championship loss at Reading but some Forest fans didn’t react well to his post-match apology.
Life without Aitor Karanka at the helm of Nottingham Forest has begun poorly as the Championship club suffered a 2-0 defeat away at Reading on Saturday.
The Reds trailed to the hosts after just 23 minutes as John Swift combined with Modou Barrow to get into position from close range and rifle home.
Forest then experienced another blow just after the hour as Danny Fox was shown a second yellow for his part in a scuffle and left Simon Ireland’s side with a mountain to climb
Seven minutes from time, Reds full-back Tendayi Darikwa also saw red, this time for a late lunge on home substitute Danny Loader.
To compound a truly miserable afternoon for the visitors, Jack Robinson scored an own goal in the 87th minute after diverting Andy Yiadom’s cross into the Forest net.
The result is Forest’s third league defeat in five and sees them drop to ninth place in the Championship table, with a home game against Bristol City coming up next Saturday.
Ireland, the Reds caretaker manager, used his post-match interview to apologise to the fans for the poor display at the Madejski Stadium.
“I’d like to apologise to the supporters,” he told the Forest website. “They have travelled a long way and paid good money.”
Blaming “over-exuberance” for the haphazard showing, Ireland added: “Danny and Tendayi have apologised to myself and the players. It was out of character for them.”
Some Reds fans did not seem to accept his apologies, however, and let rip on Twitter following the defeat in Berkshire:
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
