Nottingham Forest notebook: Yates admission, ‘hammer blow’ concern, agent speaks out

Sarah Clapson takes a look at some of the latest Nottingham Forest news ahead of Brighton and Hove Albion clash

In their battle to stay in the Premier League, Nottingham Forest will have a busy month both on and off the field in March.

Following their loss to Liverpool the previous weekend, the Reds will be seeking to bounce back when they visit Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday (2pm kickoff). Additionally, their travel to the south will occur just a few days after the team was accused of violating Premier League spending regulations by an independent panel.

Forest is aware that they have some crucial games in the upcoming weeks as they want to improve, even in the face of the possibility of losing points. Here’s a recap of the most recent events on Trentside ahead of their game against the Seagulls.

There are no indications that the aftermath of Saturday’s 1-0 setback at the City Ground will go away. Referee Paul Tierney’s mistake in the closing minutes has already been discussed by numerous analysts and former officials.

Forest were left fuming as they did not get the ball back, despite having possession when play was stopped for a potential head injury to Ibrahima Konate. Instead, Tierney restarted the game with the ball at the feet of Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher, and Jurgen Klopp’s side went on to score the winner from a corner less than two minutes later.

The hosts also felt they might have had a penalty for a challenge on Andrew Omobamidele in the passage of play involving Tierney’s decision. But Reds midfielder Ryan Yates says he does not blame Kelleher for not giving the ball back to the Reds.

“To be fair, if he’s been told it’s his ball he’s entitled to keep it,” the Forest captain said. “If we got told it was our ball I’d just play on. You’d think it’s got to be something to do with the rules, but we should have defended better anyway and cleared our lines, then the goal would never have happened and we’d go away with a point.”

Asked if he thought VAR was checking for a possible penalty, Yates added: “To be fair I don’t really know. I just thought he (Konate) was holding his head so I thought they’ll just drop us the ball back, maybe on the halfway line – worst case on the halfway line and then we’ll just play on.”

Response required

Nuno will want to ensure his players do not dwell on any feelings of injustice as focus turns to Brighton. Any fury and frustration must be channelled in the right way as the Reds look to build on the positives from the Liverpool game.

However, former goalkeeper Paul Robinson has said he “wonders” what impact the late kick in the gut will have on Forest. He hinted such a “hammer blow” might be difficult to bounce back from. No doubt, Nuno’s side will be keen to put that particular theory to bed.

“For all Forest’s resoluteness, they defended extremely well. You wonder what this will do to them because it’s a real hammer blow,” Robinson told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Football Daily podcast. “This isn’t necessarily a game they would have earmarked to pick up any points, but the way they’ve lost this game in the 98th minute after what they’ve put into the game – you could see how dejected they were.

“Yes, they were taking out their frustrations on the referee – and quite rightly so, I think. The uncontested drop ball when he stopped the game, they feel really hard done to. The scenes at the end of the game were night and day – what Forest were going through and what Liverpool were going through.”

No call-up
There had been talk Reds defender Murillo would get a call-up to the Brazil national team for friendlies against England and Spain, but he was not included when the squad was named last week.

His omission seemingly hasn’t gone down well in his homeland. It was described as a “controversial absence” by Premier League Brasil. They add: “Instead of the Nottingham Forest defender, the coach chose his namesake Murilo, who plays for Palmeiras.”

Reds teammate Felipe recently said he believed Murillo and fellow Brazilian Danilo had the potential to get call-ups in the near future. He said: “I always told them that if they managed to make a good run (playing) in Europe, they would have that chance (to be called up), because we know how difficult it is for people to adapt to Europe and its style. Dani (Danilo) and Murillo are on the right path.”

But before the squad was announced, Murillo had said he wasn’t getting too far ahead of himself. He told ESPN (via Premier League Brasil): “I keep seeing a lot of speculation. ‘Murillo in the Selection’. I’m a guy who has a very calm mind about everything. So if it happens, if it’s God’s time, I’m very calm.

“Of course, we remain hopeful, because of the matches we’ve been playing, because of the good times we’re going through, but if it’s not this time, it will be the next time. We will continue working.”