Nottinghamshire

Nizaar Kinsella
Football reporter

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Former Nottingham Forest director of football Kyriakos Dourekas says he "misses" working with owner Evangelos Marinakis despite making what he calls an "exciting" move to Saudi club Neom.

Dourekas joined Forest in 2018 from Olympiacos – also owned by Marinakis – and spent five years at the City Ground. He helped oversee Forest's return to the Premier League in 2022 after a 23-year absence from the top flight.

Now at Neom, Dourekas reflected on his time working under Marinakis.

"When Mr Marinakis wants something, it will happen, believe me," he told BBC Sport. "His ambition is so big. Whenever he has something in his mind, and it's his target, it will be done.

"A great man, entrepreneur and leader. When I went there, I believed we could bring Nottingham Forest to the Premier League because I knew I had him as a leader."

Dourekas said he felt the club's past glories – including their European Cup wins in 1979 and 1980 – had held back progress.

"We were a little too much in the past. Players coming in didn't feel important, so we had a motto with Marinakis: 'We respect the past, but we create the future.' We wanted to create a Premier League future."

He described a "collective" approach to recruitment involving Marinakis, his son Miltiadis, the data department and then director Ross Wilson.

However, the opportunity to help build a team at Neom – a club being created for the ambitious Saudi Arabian mega‑project in the desert – was one he felt he had to take in July 2024.

"I went to Marinakis and said I had an exciting new proposal. It was my sixth year and he had a strong staff in place.

"We are building Neom as a club from the ground up. We only have one pitch – no buildings or infrastructure at all. Everything is built to help not just now, but to last.

"We are building an academy, have the youngest team in the league and hope other clubs will follow our belief in developing Saudi players."

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David Jackson
BBC Radio Nottingham reporter in Braga

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The Europa League is now Nottingham Forest's last chance for some real joy this season.

Defeats by Championship opposition in both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup, added to the Premier League relegation fight, means this competition can make a big difference to how successful the season will be judged.

Whatever happens, it's a season that won't be forgotten. Yes, partly for all the managerial changes - but also for these European trips which Forest fans have embraced.

Those we've spoken to on the way to Portugal are determined to get every moment of enjoyment out of it, regardless of whatever else happens this season.

The weather is due to be horrendous in Braga, with thunderstorms forecast for Thursday afternoon in the lead-up to the game.

But when you're visiting the iconic Braga Municipal Stadium, with the rock walls of the former quarry making up one of the ends, the novelty of following your team abroad is very much still there for the fans.

It's been a long wait for European football and there's never a guarantee of when it will return.

The job for Sean Dyche and the players now is to make it last as long as possible. The Reds are unbeaten in Europe since Dyche took over.

Two wins now would pretty much guarantee a last-16 spot, without the need for a pesky play-off.

That would also take them a step closer to bringing joy to a patient fanbase who you can be sure will be there in numbers to cheer them on - wherever they end up.

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Southend United have signed goalkeeper Owen Mason on a three-month loan deal from League One side Mansfield Town.

Mason, 21, made the bench for the Shrimpers' 4-1 win over Eastleigh on Tuesday night, but could make his debut for the club at Boston United on Saturday.

The goalkeeper has featured five times for the Stags following a debut in April 2025 and has had loan spells at Guiseley, Farsley Celtic, Wexford and Gateshead.

This season, Mason has played for Mansfield in three EFL Vertu Trophy games and in the FA Cup second round win against Accrington Stanley in early December, making three saves in a penalty shootout.

Pat Riddell
Fan writer

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Strikers have been a hot topic in the Premier League this season. For every Hugo Ekitike and Igor Thiago - 24 league goals between them this term - there's a Benjamin Sesko and an Alexander Isak, with just the six goals in total.

Nottingham Forest, of course, have had their own difficulties. Notably the absence of Chris Wood. The New Zealand international has started just seven games this season, scoring twice, but his knee injury in mid-October has seen him sidelined ever since.

Wood's 20 goals last campaign, and ability to lead the line, contributed greatly to the Reds' seventh-place finish. However, despite the money spent in the summer, Forest have struggled to score of late.

Igor Jesus has proved a valuable player since his arrival from Botafogo - his selfless toiling up front, often isolated in attack, has helped during a torrid time for the club - but he's struggled to find the net in the league, despite scoring in all three cups.

Arnaud Kalimuendo seemingly didn't adapt quickly enough to Premier League life, at least for now, so is seeing out the rest of the season on loan to Eintracht Frankfurt. Which then begs the question - what next?

Wolverhampton Wanderers' Jorgen Strand Larsen was linked early in the January window but whether we've been put off by the £40m valuation, or we're waiting until late in the month to see what happens, is hard to tell.

Italian striker Lorenzo Lucca is the name most likely at the moment, with a 1m euros (£870,000) try-before-you-buy loan price perhaps more appealing with a permanent 35m euros (£30.5m) figure in the summer. The Napoli forward has struggled for game time since his move from Udinese, but did score 14 in 36 matches last term.

Either way, with Oleksandr Zinchenko set to see out the season at Ajax and Kalimuendo already in Germany, there is room in the squad for a goalscorer - and Forest's league position is very much dependent upon it.

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Nottingham Forest defender Ola Aina highlighted the collective effort behind the performance against Arsenal, and the belief that Forest must carry that level of intensity into every fixture as they look to move clear of relegation.

Speaking to BBC Radio Nottingham after the 0-0 draw, Aina spoke about the importance of getting the basics right as Forest showed organisation, commitment and togetherness, limiting Arsenal's chances.

The hard-fought point at the City Ground moves Forest onto 22 points after 22 games and keeps them 17th in the table.

"It was hard work, but it was very fulfilling, you know. We stuck together, and played, and we tried to cause problems and opportunities. It was a good performance from the boys, and hopefully we can build on that," Aina said.

"The basics are the most important, and I feel that myself and the team did that very well today, and we need to build on that. When you work hard, other things follow. That's what we did today, all of us are very tired at the end.

"It's good to perform like that against a great side like Arsenal. But I feel that every week we need to put in performances like that and not just against Arsenal. Hopefully, we will build on it next week and the weeks after, we will really push on and start smashing teams."

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