NOTTINGHAM FOREST BOSS Martin O’Neill expressed his disappointment after seeing his side lose 3-0 to Sheffield Wednesday in a game that dealt a serious blow to the team’s Championship promotion hopes.
Tuesday night’s loss leaves the club 10th in the table, six points off the play-off spots with five games to play, while some rivals have a match in hand.
The game had been scoreless at the break, before Forest imploded, finding themselves 3-0 down after 67 minutes, owing to a Marco Matias brace and a George Boyd strike.
Irish international Keiren Westwood earned a clean sheet for the Owls, while Waterford native Daryl Murphy was a late substitute for Forest.
“It’s pretty disappointing,” O’Neill told the BBC afterwards. “First half we were excellent and could have scored a couple of goals.
“It always comes back to haunt you and then we’ve had a mad five-minute spell in the second half.
“My job here is to change the mentality at this football club and I will do it.
“We’ve hit really tough times at this minute — maybe a realisation of what’s ahead.
“I knew this was going to be difficult, but that’s the task ahead. Maybe that’s the reason why we’ve had so many managers in not so many years. But at the end of it all, it’s my job to change it, and change it I will.”
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O’Neill’s “tactical genius” at Forest so far:
- drops playmaker Joao Carvalho, creator of most Forest goals during the first 5 months of the season. He hasn’t started a game since and has seen limited time from the bench.
- drops the most impressive defensive midfielder Claudio Yacob for Ben Watson who only passes backwards or sidewards.
- drops top scorer Lewis Grabban for Daryl Murphy. Murphy is game but at 35 he’s not gonna get you 20 goals a season.
Forest have gone from having an average of 57% possession per game during Aitor Karanka, to 43% during O’Neill.
Sound familiar anyone????
@Colm O’Sullivan: sounds like you are well on top of the stats yes lol it does ring a bell
Just when I thought I had seen the last of him…
Surprise, surprise….
He’s blaming others again. Delusional and obnoxious.
It would have been so different if only Forest had Robbie Keane in his prime…
@ThomasGerard.Walsh: What is his side kick doing – dreadful decision of O’Neill’s to be associated with Keane again. No lesson learned
Agree with all of above.
The man brought us to the knockout stage of a Euros and a World Cup playoff. Things ended on a very sour note and he really should have gone after the hammering by Denmark, but it’s over. Take absolutely no joy in kicking the man now. Bit pathetic to see how happy people here are to see things go badly for him.
@ScewMadd:
Well said lad,