Nottingham Forest star Jesse Lingard has raved about the City Ground atmosphere during an interview with Steven Bartlett on The Diary of a CEO podcast. The Reds forward sat down with the Dragons Den supremo recently to discuss his life in football and away from the pitch.
Lingard risked the wrath of the West Ham fan base in the summer. Despite having a contract offer on the table from the club where he excelled on loan, Lingard chose to join newly-promoted Forest on a free transfer instead.
The 30-year-old has slowly but surely started to justify his place at Forest. Initially, he struggled but having not had a full pre-season with Steve Cooper’s squad that was to be expected.
Lingard is thankful for the support he’s received from the Forest faithful. He’s even made quite the statement when discussing the fans that regularly attend games at the City Ground.
The Forest man told The Diary of a CEO podcast: “Home games can be really crucial and key because that atmosphere…it’s nothing that I’ve ever experienced before. I’ve never played in an atmosphere like that before a game, it’s a joke. It gives me goosebumps every time.
Lingard has raved about the City Ground atmosphere
Lots of teams’ supporters might be showing some ignorance to Forest this season but when it comes to the face, they’ve received plenty of plaudits.
The City Ground is a wonderful place to watch football. Last season when the team were chasing promotion, the atmosphere was awesome at times and that’s increased during 2022/23.
To say that Lingard has played home games at Old Trafford, the London Stadium and at Wembley during his career, this is quite a sentiment.
Forest fans will love him for it too. One thing that the club’s supporters do take great pride in is how much noise they make at home.
This season that sentiment could be vital and the fans could seriously help Lingard edge back to his best before the season is out.