Derby County fans actually want Nottingham Forest to stay up and here’s why.
General view of Derby County fans
Nottingham Forest head into the final game of the Sky Bet Championship season knowing it is a three-horse race between them, Blackburn Rovers and Birmingham City for who seals the final relegation spot.
Both Rotherham United and Wigan Athletic are already confirmed in the bottom three, but with Forest and Blackburn tied on 48 points and Birmingham just ahead on 50, there is still all to play for.
Yet with the prospect of dropping down to the third tier of English football a very realistic prospect for the Reds, they have found support from the unlikeliest of sources – Derby County fans.
Derby and Forest have a fierce rivalry and the East Midlands derby is an often very heated affair, but despite that some Rams supporters clearly want to keep their enemies close.
Meanwhile, Derby fan Daniel Butterworth told the Derby Telegraph:
“This might not be the most popular opinion but what is football without great rivalries like ours and the red dogs down the road? Never want to see them relegated if I am honest… it’s the first fixture I look for when they come out. As long as we beat them twice and finish above them then I am happy.”
Derby’s Craig Bryson is tackled by Nottingham Forest’s Britt Assombalonga
Much of the Rams faithful do of course want to see their rivals go down to League One, but it seems that a larger majority than most would probably expect actually want Forest to stay up.
As many have said, surely a rivalry is made all the better when the two clubs involved actually play each other over the course of a season?
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