Nottingham Forest drew with Aston Villa on Monday and Scott McKenna proved exactly why he’s worth sticking with.
In recent weeks, plenty of supporters have suggested the Scotland international should lose his place in the team.
That seems incredibly harsh, to say the very least.
McKenna was Forest’s Player of the Year for 2021/22 and also claimed the Man of the Match award in the Play-Off Final.
The 25-year-old is only nine games into his Premier League career and he will need time to adapt.
It’s a bit jump from playing in the SPL and the Championship to trying to become an established Premier League player.
McKenna has sometimes struggled this season but he’s far from the only player who has encountered problems.
It seems very rash for some supporters to merely suggest that Forest wash their hands of him after a troublesome period.
On Monday there were glimpses of the McKenna that fans know and love.
For starters he was far less panicked in possession and completed 86% of his 29 passes, according to Who Scored.
Defensively he was sound too, making five clearances, the most of any player from either team on the night.
McKenna finished the night with one tackle, one interception and one block to his name also.
McKenna proved his worth to Forest
The talented central defender was always going to find it a huge leap this season.
He won promotion to the Premier League with Forest and missed just one Championship game last season.
McKenna is a quality player and his defensive attributes have never come into question.
Forest will find it tough this season in their maiden campaign back in the Premier League.
Some players won’t be up to the job and decisions will be made as the season progresses.
McKenna isn’t one of them though and Steve Cooper would be wise to stick with his talismanic defensive machine.
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