Grabban ignoring all of the gossip on his future
LEWIS Grabban has again brushed off any speculation about his future at Nottingham Forest.
The striker was wanted by Sabri Lamouchi during the last summer transfer window. The Frenchman joined Qatari side Al Duhail following his axe by the Reds.
Grabban previously dismissed suggestions he wanted to leave at the time as “hot air” and has reiterated that stance.
The 33-year-old is entering the final year of his contract at the City Ground but says his focus is on getting back to his best next season.
“It’s just gossip. People love to gossip,” said Grabban. “I think I’ve been leaving every window since I signed here!
“I just get on with it and try to do my job.
“Hopefully, next season I can get back to what the fans expect of me and what I expect of myself; get towards those higher figures of goals.”
Grabban finished as Forest’s top scorer for the campaign just gone, though he fell some way short of his previous tallies in the Garibaldi as the team struggled in attack.
Injuries disrupted his game time, leaving him with a haul of six goals from 29 appearances.
As boss Chris Hughton looks to get his side firing next term, for an assault on the top six, he has hinted at using Grabban in a different role – more as a number 10 than the main front man.
It was something which was tried on the final day, in the defeat to Preston North End, and is a position familiar to the player.
“I’ve done that before,” said Grabban.
“I had dialogues with the gaffer when he was at Brighton. At that period of time, when I was at Bournemouth, I was playing in that role.
“It’s something I’ve done before and I’m fine with it, if we do go down that route.
“I think the gaffer is trying to work on different options for next season and maximising the potential of every player.”
Hughton’s men finished in 17th, having spent the season battling at the bottom end of the table.
There will be significant changes to the squad this summer in a bid to transform the Reds into a side capable of a promotion push.
Grabban welcomes any reinforcements and is keen to put the last few months behind him.
“It’s kind of expected. We always have players coming in,” he said.
“It’s not a bad thing. Hopefully, we’ll be able to gel as quickly as possible and get some good results.
“When you have a low, you want to let it go as quickly as possible and move on from it.
“But in certain games, there are learning curves with things to take away from them – the games we could have won.
“That’s the case with every season, whether you’ve done well or not.
“Each game adds to your experience as a pro. You learn from it and try to do better next season.
“It’s been a disappointment and there’s been some frustrating moments. We’ve not achieved what we wanted to achieve. We’re going to have to take that with us and learn from it and start next season in a different fashion.
“For me, it’s been frustrating. I’ve not really been able to get the run of games I wanted to get and do what I’ve done in previous seasons.
“It’s been disappointing on a personal note. But injuries happen in football and you have to deal with them.
“Hopefully, we’ll come back stronger from the break and not have as many injuries, hopefully none.”
After more than a year of playing behind closed doors, the hope is, too, that supporters can return to the City Ground in August.
“It’s not the same, everyone knows that,” Grabban added.
“Hopefully, we’ll be able to have fans back at the beginning of next season and we’ll get back to some normality; some intensity and some pressurised games as well, which is definitely needed.
“Hopefully, we can start performing at a better level with the fans supporting us.”