Nothing has been straight forward at Nottingham Forest this season.
There were dramatic defeats at the first hurdle in both domestic cup competitions to lower league opposition. That rollercoaster run to the semi-finals of the Europa League, via the knock-out play-offs.
A Premier League campaign that teetered on the brink of relegation until an impressive eight-game unbeaten run – which included memorable back-to-back wins at Sunderland and Chelsea. And, of course, the 2025/26 campaign has been overseen by four different permanent managers, if that word is not an oxymoron.
“It’s been quite a journey to be honest, but we’ve finished the season really well,” midfielder Elliot Anderson reflects ahead of Sunday’s trip to Manchester United, live on Sky Sports.
“There are two more games to go, but we’re really happy with how we are doing at the minute. We’ve stuck together as a team and really tried to make the most of the situation we’ve been in.”
The contrasting demands of Nuno Espirito Santo, Ange Postecoglou, Sean Dyche and finally Vitor Pereira must have made for a varied time on the training pitch, as the team’s style of play changed throughout the season.
“It can be tough, different managers want different things,” Anderson continues. “Making sure you’re in the starting line-up under four different managers is pretty tough, really. But it’s football and you’ve got to expect that. You’ve just got to do everything you can to make whoever is the manager at the time happy.”
It might seem an obvious conclusion to blame the chopping and changing of coaches for the team’s league struggles, but Anderson shuts the door on that suggestion.
“I think we were under-performing as a team,” he adds. “You can’t really blame anyone other than the 11 on the pitch at any time. We take responsibility for our performances and thankfully we’ve all picked up towards the back end of the season.”
Forest appear to have found the right fit with Pereira, who has enjoyed a transformation of his own after a desperately disappointing start to the season as head coach of Wolves. He seems reinvigorated with a group of players responding to his methods.
“He just gives us a bit of a framework to build from and tells us to go and use our quality to show what we can do,” Anderson says.
“There’s a bit of freedom involved and we can only do so much before we go on the pitch. It’s the togetherness he brings with the group. Everyone is fully on board with what he wants to do.
“We’ll take on any team to win and we’re not afraid of anyone with the way he wants us to play. We’re fully behind that and we’ve really enjoyed it.”
Three successive victories at home to Burnley and away at Sunderland and Chelsea all but assured Forest’s top division status.
Eyebrows were raised when Pereira made eight changes to the starting line-up at Stamford Bridge after his strongest XI had beaten Aston Villa in the Europa League semi-final first leg the previous week. The 3-1 win that followed was as impressive as it was unexpected.
“The Chelsea win felt bigger than the other games because of the way we won,” Anderson says. “It gave huge confidence to everyone because the gaffer changed up the team and the lads went out and put a really good display on and it lifted the energy of the whole group. That turned out to be a really good decision.”
Anderson can afford to turn his attentions to England now. He has established himself in Thomas Tuchel’s plans for the World Cup after being called up for the first time last August, and a season that is ending positively at club level has the chance to turn into a truly memorable one on a personal note.
“I’ve got two more games to go to show why I should be going so that’s my focus,” he insists. “I think it will be an amazing tournament and I just really want to do the country proud.
“Playing for England is special every time you put the shirt on and I just want to keep doing it. Going into that first squad there were some nerves, to gain the respect of your team-mates and show that you deserve to be there, but I think I did that well.”
It has been some rise since the last World Cup year. This time four years ago Anderson was finishing the season on loan at League Two Bristol Rovers. He scored the last goal in an astonishing 7-0 win against Scunthorpe that earned the team automatic promotion – by the narrowest margin of goals scored – on the final day.
Anderson has become a mainstay in Thomas Tuchel’s midfield and looks odds on to start England’s World Cup opener with Croatia on June 17
“It definitely doesn’t feel like four years ago,” he says. “The first target going on loan is just trying to get minutes, get in the team. They started picking up a few results before I joined so I thought it was going to be tough to get in. It was just about training well and it went from there.
“I played more minutes, got that goal and then after that it was about focussing on getting into the Newcastle team when I went back for pre-season. I’ve loved every minute of it since, trying to better myself. Being in different teams and having different experiences has been amazing really.
“Glenn Whelan was a big influence at Bristol Rovers. I was new to professional football and he’d lived it and done it, so you’re just listening to him.
“He was obviously coming to the end of his career but you could see the quality he had on the pitch. At Newcastle a lot of senior lads looked after me. Paul Dummett, in particular, took me under his wing and helped me a lot.”
Still only 23, Anderson has now established himself as a senior player in the Premier League at Forest and will surely go on to do the same for his country in the coming years.
“I bring a lot of energy and cover a lot of ground so that suits me,” he says of his playing style. “I just want to be quite involved with the game, get the ball moving or break up play and things like that. I don’t think I’m at the top of my game yet, I’ve got plenty more to come.”
Watch Manchester United vs Nottingham Forest live on Sky Sports Premier League on Sunday from 12pm, kick-off 12.30pm.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: skynews.com
