Dougie Freedman believes derby win tonight could be tonic for Nottingham Forest woes, but he’s not feeling the pressure

Dougie Freedman believes tonight’s derby clash could be just the tonic for out of form Nottingham Forest.
JUNIOR football round-up.JUNIOR football round-up.
JUNIOR football round-up.

The Forest boss leads his side into a vital game at home to Derby County insisting that while the Reds have prepared as they would for any game, victory in this one would mean more than most wins.

Ahead of his first derby game in charge, he said: “I am really looking forward to it. It is a game where you have to control your emotions, but I am a good at that. In the position we are in, this is the kind of game we need, to give us a boost.

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“It does not matter who are the favourites, our preparation will not change. We will treat it as we would any other game, in terms of our preparation at least.

“It is a derby match, but that could be exactly what we need, given the position we are in. We need some glimmer of hope and hopefully we can give ourselves one in this game.

“If we get the win it will mean more than three points for us, because of the opposition and because of the way we have been playing previously. We have not been getting what we deserve.”

If Forest fail to get three points tonight, it will be their worst home run since January 2012.

But Freedman says they’re due a victory.

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“I am very confident that a win is coming, because of the way we have been playing.

Statistics can tell you a great deal, but they will also tell you that we have been dominating games a creating opportunities. All we are missing are goals.”

And he’s adamant that the winless streak has not put him on edge.

“You have to get through these moments. I understand there is pressure from social media and the internet, which can make people make different decisions. I understand that,” said Freedman. “But every business and every football club needs some stability to get to their end goal.

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“I don’t feel pressure at all. The biggest pressure on me will always come from myself and my own desire to do well. There will be nobody else who puts more pressure on me to do well, to do my best and make sure we have a committed team.

“I am no fool, I know it is a results industry and you can get the fans on your back – I know that. But there is a way to do it and the players are playing for me and they are playing for this club. As long as they are doing that, it gives me hope that the results will change.

“We will come through this here.”