What do Forest need for Christmas?
- Published
Forest could do with some anonymity in the Premier League after what was a chaotic start to the season.
That may seem perverse but for Forest to go under the radar, allowing Sean Dyche to slowly build, would be perfect following two-and-a-half rollercoaster seasons.
Of course there will be expectation from owner Evangelos Marinakis for Forest to challenge for Europe again - especially with the £180m outlay in the summer - but a bit of stability for a time would be welcome.
They have won six of their last nine games in all competitions so the consistency is coming under Dyche - the 3-0 defeat at Everton and Monday's 1-0 loss at Craven Cottage aside - but remain in trouble.
It proves Forest cannot afford to have too many nights like the one in west London. There is a five-point gap to the bottom three, but that can quickly change over Christmas and new year with the volume of games.
Having Chris Wood [knee] and Ola Aina [hamstring] available again would also give them an additional boost, with the pair having been sidelined since October and September respectively.
