On his overall take on the game…
I couldn’t have asked for more today. I think most people talk about the second half – that they are really positive about the second half. If you ask me, I am also more positive about the second half than the first half, but if you play at this ground against this team, who are in such good form, hardly concedes a chance in every single game – and I have watched many of them back. So many counter-attack threats, almost every game they have counter-attack after counter-attack after counter-attack. We conceded only one counter-attack here today in 98 minutes of football of total domination. Unfortunately for us, that ball immediately went in.
Then in the second half, our ball possession also led to a lot of chances. You have to give credit, again, to Nottingham because the way they defend, they throw themselves in front of shot, in front of every cross and then there is a goalkeeper that has an outstanding season this year and tonight again. Being 1-0 down over here and it’s so hard to score against this team, it’s not what we wanted – we want to have three points, but in the end but what I want, what the fans should want and what the players should want is that they give it all they got during every single game they play. That’s what is what they did today combined with outstanding football in the second half.
On whether tonight highlighted any areas he’d like to strengthen in the transfer window…
I think you saw today again that I can still strengthen the team or impact the game with the substitutes I have on the bench. Not for the first time this season, these players have helped us, that I could bring in. If you look at today, like I said, I couldn’t have asked for more. I said to them at half-time don’t get frustrated, you will not get many chances, probably the game is going to be slow, but just keep focusing on what you have to do and hopefully you will get two or three chances and let’s try to score from that. I was completely wrong because they created chance after chance after chance.
On how difficult Forest are to play against and whether their style is ‘unique’…
I wouldn’t say unique, but the playing style suits the players really well and I think this is what is the job of every manager: to try to find a playing style that suits your players. What makes it difficult, and we faced it not only against them but we faced it a bit against [Manchester] United as well, is they play the long ball and they have some very good players for this. So, first of all you have to make sure you win the first ball and then the second or the third ball because they play the ball off Wood, who is a very strong target man, and then they have got these quick forwards that can hurt you as well.
But then the moment you win the second or the third ball there are 11 players behind the ball and it is so difficult to score against teams that play in a low block; it’s so difficult to create chances against teams like that. And yeah, that’s why for us it was such a disappointment that we went 1-0 down because then they could even play their style even better, which made it a difficult evening for us because apart from the [Forest] players that I have to give compliments, I have to give the fans compliments as well because they were really there for the home team and tried to influence the game as much as they could. They were a big help for Forest tonight.
