‘As soon as I walked in’: Joe Cole shares what he instantly noticed at Nottingham Forest’s training ground
Nottingham Forest are getting closer and closer to achieving their goals for the 2024/25 campaign.
In recent months, those goals have gone from any sort of European football to a genuine belief that the Reds can be in the Champions League next season.
Forest still remain third in the Premier League and have occupied that position since beating Everton 2-0 way back in December at Goodison Park.
Nuno Espirito Santo has developed a style of play that suits the players he has and he deserves his flowers for the team’s form this season.
There is, however, work still to be done, although pundits have started to take a shot at predicting who will get the Champions League spots.
Craig Bellamy made a bold call on Monday and now former England midfielder Joe Cole has taken aim at predicting who will make it.
Joe Cole predicts Nottingham Forest finish
Cole praised Forest shortly after their 1-0 win over Manchester City having been invited down to the training ground by the club for TNT Sports.
He got to spend some time with the players and clearly, they’ve made an impact on him, with Cole backing Forest to stay in the top five.
Unlike Bellamy, he does think Forest have got what it takes and thinks one of his former clubs might just miss out.
He said on The Dressing Room Podcast: “We were there and the lads there made us feel welcome, it was a winning mentality. They’re on it, mate.
“I’m going to go Nottingham Forest third, Manchester City fourth.
“I’m worried about Chelsea, but it’s tough, isn’t it. I’ve done the City one just because of the name more than anything. It’s a flip of a coin, isn’t it?”
Steve Sidwell also added on the podcast: “They’ve got points on the board and you see all the videos that come out after when they celebrate their wins, we’ve all been in those sorts of dressing rooms and when you’ve got that togetherness it really helps.”
Forest must stay focused on Champions League goal
The Reds are tantalisingly close to defying the odds and going from relegation battlers to Champions League makers in 12 months.
The feat probably wouldn’t match the heroics of Leicester winning the Premier League title but in the modern era, it’d be pretty close.
Forest have pretty good fixtures in their quest for Champions League football and if the team can keep doing what they’ve been good at, it could be a good end to the season.
At this stage, it would be massively disappointing if Forest dropped out of the top five and hopefully any last-minute nerves can be averted.
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