Hughton hoping more will follow Garner to help spark the Reds
BOSS SAYS LATEST LOAN CAN GIVE TEAM A LIFT
CHRIS Hughton hopes for more players to follow James Garner and give the Nottingham Forest dressing room “a lift”.
The Manchester United midfielder became the Reds’ fourth summer signing on Sunday when he returned to the City Ground on a season-long loan.
Garner was a big hit at the club in the second half of last term, after joining in January, cementing his place in the first XI.
Forest have chased his signature for much of the past few months, fighting off some tough competition in the process.
And as he arrives on the back of a pointless start to the Championship campaign, on the back of four defeats, Hughton hopes the 20-yearold can provide a much-needed boost for the team – with more to come.
“It does give the players a lift. And we need more of those lifts, that goes without saying,” he said, while confirming Garner will be involved in Forest’s Carabao Cup second round tie against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the City Ground tonight (8pm).
“The fact James was so highly thought of here last season, helps.
“He’s developing. If we look at his games last season, his level of performance was good.
“The players appreciated a young player coming in from Manchester United, knuckling down and getting on with the group – he’s a very humble young man, no airs and graces or flashiness about him. The players took to him.
“With any player who comes in, there’s always a transitional period.
“Some hit the ground running with their abilities, some might take a little while to get used to things.
“What we are very confident with James is, as soon as he came back into the building, it’s just business resumed.
“It’s an easy transition.” Garner follows Ethan Horvath, Philip Zinckernagel and Jordi Oseitutu in putting pen to paper for the Reds.
Hughton, though, remains light on options in certain areas of the pitch as he looks to arrest a poor run of results.
His ideal scenario would be to get further deals done before Saturday’s trip to face Derby County - the final game before the international break. “What would help would be to get signings in as soon as possible.
“That has been the case throughout the summer and throughout pre-season,” he said.
“The ideal is to always get players in as soon as possible.
“This has been a difficult and challenging window for most clubs.
“The club have been working very hard to try to secure signings as early as possible. That hasn’t been possible.
“Would I prefer them in tomorrow, as opposed to five or six days’ time?
“Yes, as soon as possible.”
He added: “We need players in specific positions.
“I always think it’s a bit unfair to speak about the exact numbers you want to bring in, because on most occasions you’re not able to get what
you want.
“I think it’s normal in this window now, for it to go right to the end.
“Some clubs are fortunate enough to have done some of their work early, some clubs might have finished any transfer business already.
“But I do expect, as it always is, a busy last couple of days.
“At this stage, with just over a week to go, I think we will be pushing right until the last few days.”