ROCK ON WOOD
Chris says his old head will keep youngsters upbeat
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CHRIS WOOD is ready to use all his experience to help Nottingham Forest stay in the Premier League.
His excellent back-headed goal – after Jean-philippe Mateta had given Crystal Palace a first-half lead – earned Forest a crucial point at the City Ground and saw them climb back out of the bottom three.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side had slid into the danger zone after being docked four points for breaching profit and sustainability rules.
But while this result was a step in the right direction, Wood knows there is plenty of work to be done over the last eight games of the season.
That starts with tomorrow’s City Ground clash with Fulham.
Wood, 32, maintains Forest’s fate will not be decided until the final few games of the season. In the meantime, the former Burnley and Newcastle striker says part of his job is helping to pass on some of his know-how to the younger players in the Forest squad.
He said: “It’s what my role is. It’s what I’ve been a part of throughout my career. And when I was younger, other players did it to me.
“It’s about just keeping calm. We chat and talk to the younger players and give them confidence. You’ve got to keep everybody upbeat and happy. That’s when people play their best football. But we know, as players, it’s going to go down to the last games.
“We don’t want it to, but know it probably will.”
Wood (above) says the Forest players were prepared for the four-point penalty, which came their way during the international break.
He admitted: “We knew it was coming. The club are doing what they can to overcome it, but for us as players, we’ve got to win games.
“Then, the easier it becomes and the more irrelevant the points deduction will become.”
Wood knows Forest’s appeal against the deduction could yet make a difference, but doesn’t want to hang all hopes on that. He added: “It might get better. If it doesn’t, we know where we’re at. But we’ve still got to push forward.
“The determination’s always been there. We know we’ve got a good squad and show it in 80-85 percent of games.
“Sometimes, we don’t see it through, and there’s some stuff we’ve got to learn. But we’re just going to keep building – what you see on paper is a better side than we had last year.” NOTTINGHAM FOREST (4-2-3-1): Sels 7; Williams 6, Felipe 6, Murillo 6, Aina 6 (Toffolo 84); Yates 6, Sangare 5 (Elanga 46, 6); Origi 5 (Reyna 60, 6), Gibbswhite 7, Hudson-odoi 7; Wood 8.
CRYSTAL PALACE (3-4-3): Henderson 6; Ward 6, Andersen 6, Richards 6; Munoz 6, Lerma 6, Wharton 7 (Hughes 80), Mitchell 6 (Clyne 90); Ayew 6 (Schlupp 65, 6), Mateta 7, Eze 7.