IN CHRIS WE TRUST

CHRIS Hughton has admitted to being “disappointed” with Nottingham Forest’s final position in the Championship.

But the majority of Reds fans still believe he is the right choice to take the club forward, according to a survey by the Post.

We canvassed supporters’ opinions on the campaign just gone, which saw Forest struggling at the wrong end of the table before finishing 17th, as well as asking for thoughts on the future.

Asked whether Hughton was the right man to lead the team next season, 61 per cent of the more than 2,000 supporters who took part said ‘yes.’

Only 15 per cent said ‘no,’ while 24 per cent felt it was too early to make a judgement on the former Brighton & Hove Albion boss.

Hughton took charge in October, following the sacking of Sabri Lamouchi. In his 44 games at the helm, the Reds have won 13, drawn 16 and lost 15.

Asked to rate the manager’s time at the City Ground so far, 23 per cent gave a mark of five out of 10, with 20 per cent opting for a six and 16 per cent giving a rating of seven.

Hughton made sure of survival with two games to spare, but there is no getting away from the fact Forest had expected to be challenging for promotion.

They came agonisingly close to securing a play-off place under Lamouchi in 2020 and it seems

most fans expected the club to build on that.

At the start of the 2020-21 campaign, more than half (57 per cent) of those polled thought the Reds would have finished in the play-offs this time around.

In fact, six per cent felt automatic promotion was on the cards, while 24 per cent had their sights set on a top-half finish.

Just nine per cent of people thought Forest would have finished in the bottom half of the table.

And what has proved to be a miserable season is reflected in the scores given for rating the campaign as a whole.

It was graded two out of 10 by 27 per cent of fans and one out of 10 by 24 per cent, while 26 per cent ranked it worthy of a three.

Fittingly, asked for a favourite moment of this term, more than one person quipped “the end of it”.

There is some optimism for next year, though, with plenty of supporters backing Hughton to oversee a top-six charge.

Many are also looking forward to seeing the club’s up-andcoming talent get a chance in the Garibaldi, with 43 per cent identifying Brennan Johnson as the youngster they are expecting the most from.

Alex Mighten has been backed to shine by 41 per cent of those polled, while 10 per cent said they are hopeful Jordan Gabriel can make an impact.