O'Driscoll Praises Fans Backing

The feelgood factor surrounding all things Nottingham Forest, shows no sign of changing just yet. Manager Sean O'Driscoll has only been in charge for 10 games, but in that short space of time there have been some massive transformations at the club, both on and off the pitch.

With the new owners came a new manager and almost an entire new team of playing staff, which meant the dour mood on Trentside at the end of May, had been dramatically lifted by the beginning of August. The 2011/12 season was a largely forgettable one regarding matters on the pitch, but one of constant tension, drama, upheaval and turmoil off it. Billy Davies was sacked. His successor Steve McClaren was also shown the door and fan protests led to then Chairman Nigel Doughty standing down after admitting having made a few mistakes. His untimely death in February also cast a shadow over the very future of the club. Thankfully, that has all now been resolved and can be placed in the file marked History.

Ten games into the current season and things are looking a lot better on all fronts for the club. Whilst results in those 10 games may not have entirely gone our way to date and the league table shows us sitting in a rather mediocre 12th place, the early signs are good and hopes of better to come are more than realistic. The manner in which Sean O`Driscoll has the team playing has been very much appreciated by the fans and that fact hasn`t gone unnoticed by the manager.

O`Driscoll told the Evening Post that the support shown by the fans had actually helped the team win points this season. He cited the game against Birmingham as an example of how the support from the stands helped them pull back a two goal deficit in the game. 'When we were 2-0 down against Birmingham, the crowd actually lifted the team. You do not see that too often. The team responded to that." He also said the supporters more than played their part in the recent home game against Blackburn. 'I said at half time against Blackburn that there were 18,000 people out there who want to see us do well. You can sense that. We do not want to disappointment and, if we do have to disappoint them, let's do it in a way where they can at least see that we have given it a go."

Click here to join in the debate on the club forum.