FOX: WE WILL MAKE UP FOR LOST TIME
Bruce to take over Owls team revitalised by stand-in boss
SKIPPER Danny Fox has vowed that this won’t be another lost season for Nottingham Forest.
As speculation about manager Aitor Karanka’s future increased, Fox expressed his anger at his side’s sorry display at The Den, which capped a miserable Christmas for the club.
In four full seasons since he joined from Southampton, initially on loan, in January 2014, Fox has seen Forest finish between 11th and 21st every time.
Not once has the club seriously threatened to regain the Premier League place it lost in 1999.
Fox said: “Our aim is still promotion but if we don’t start performing we’ll be nowhere near it. A team that wants to get promoted needs to win four, five, six, seven, eight games on the bounce.
“We need to start doing that as soon as possible, otherwise it’ll be another season gone.”
Ryan Tunnicliffe’s overhead kick in the ninth minute earned three points for the Lions, who should really have won more easily.
Tunnicliffe’s wonder strike (above) made it six points from six ahead of tomorrow’s visit to bottom club Ipswich.
The 26-year-old midfielder said: “I don’t score many like that in training – I don’t think many people do.
“We’ll go to Ipswich with the same mentality we have for every game – start fast with a lot of energy and see where it takes us.
“Nine points from three games doesn’t come around too often in this division.
“Hopefully we can do that and get our first away win.” MILLWALL:
MATCH STATS
Jones og Nuhiu
STEVE BRUCE is 58 today and his best present is the one being handed over by Lee Bullen.
Bruce (above, right) is expected back from his family holiday ready to be appointed the new manager of Sheffield Wednesday.
Birthday gifts will not get a lot better than what Bullen can hand him – a three-game unbeaten run as caretaker boss going into tomorrow’s home fixture with Birmingham. It really should be three wins on the bounce – Wednesday looked to have won this one as well until Chris Brunt (below) grabbed an equaliser, deflected off Dave Jones, five minutes into added time.
The Baggies, who battled for nearly half an hour with 10 men after Jay Rodriguez was sent off, were lucky to get away with it...and knew it.
Bullen has taken Owls nine points clear of the Championship relegation zone. They had won once in 10 league games when Jos Luhukay was sacked four days before Christmas and their house was gloomier than Scrooge’s.
But Bullen, stepping up from coach, has tightened the defence and brought a smile back to a club put up for sale by owner Dejphon Chansiri.
Jones paid tribute to the impact made by Bullen (above, left) since taking charge.
“Bully knows the club, he’s been here for many years. He’s REF: got a belief in us and got the group together,” said the Owls midfielder
“Steve Bruce is an experienced manager and he’s got a great record everywhere.
“But for now we’re just concentrating on Bully being in charge because we have had some very positive results.”
Wednesday were ahead inside five minutes through Atdhe Nuhiu and, when Rodriguez was red-carded for an alleged stamp on Marco Matias – a decision West Brom will appeal against – they must have thought three points were in the bag.
But Albion were galvanised by the introduction 20 minutes into the second half of Hal Robson-Kanu, Matt Phillips and former England star ATT: Gareth Barry. And it was Phillips’ late late corner that Brunt forced over the line, courtesy of that deflection off Jones, and robbed Bullen of his perfect record.
“It’s been a case of a few fresh ideas under Bully,” added Jones. “He has put some enjoyable training sessions on and really got the group together.”
So there you go Brucie. Happy birthday.
WEST BROM: SHEFF WED: MOTM BARRY BANNAN (SHEFF WED)