Nottingham Forest boss commends team spirit during Aston Villa thriller

Nottingham Forest drew 5-5 with Aston Villa in an entertaining Championship fixture on Wednesday evening, with over 30,000 in attendance.

The Reds extended their unbeaten league run to six games after a pulsating night in the West Midlands.

The result means that Forest still haven’t left Villa Park with all three points since 1994; although on this occasion it represented a sign of real progress.

Following the game, Forest’s official website spoke to boss Aitor Karanka who was quick to praise his players.

Seat Pitch looked back at the Spaniard’s quote following the breathtaking contest.

“On days like these, you can be proud of your players. It is not a day to talk about tactics or mistakes, it is a day to talk about the personality and commitment of the players at the end of a crazy game.”

It would appear that the Forest boss is pleased with the progress his side are making with this comment.

The Reds flew out of the box, were then pegged back and later trailed with ten men.

The side which he inherited almost a year ago would have probably folded going a goal down with ten men, but the current squad is a different breed.

The Spaniard will obviously be disappointed to not win the game having been ahead so often in the game; although he is clearly beaming with his players.

“We’ve played against a fantastic team in front of 32,000 people and we were still attacking even with ten men. For me, the main thing is that we competed away from home against one of the biggest clubs in the league.”

It is fair to suggest that Forest won’t come up against too many sides boasting players with the quality which Villa do.

Dean Smith will get Villa in a position where they can challenge for promotion at some point and Karanka recognises just that.

The Reds went toe-to-toe with one of the standout sides in their own backyard and that deserves immense credit.

The fact he makes a point that his side was still attacking even with ten men, suggest that this Forest team will have a good go at winning every game they play.

“I think it is the first time in my career that my team has conceded five goals but the character we showed to fight back was amazing.”

The fact that the Forest boss has opted to mention this suggests he is seething with the defensive performance.

Karanka is a proud man and defending is his forte. It seems safe to presume that The Reds will be spending plenty of time on the training ground – particularly at defending crosses.

Four of Villa five notches came from balls into the box and that won’t have impressed the Forest boss.

Related Topics