Following Nottingham Forest’s electrifying 3-1 victory over Manchester City at the City Ground, head coach Oliver Glasner has explicitly warned his squad against dropping their intensity, insisting that a single shock victory will mean nothing if the Reds fail to build long-term momentum.
The Austrian manager famously sprinted half the length of the touchline, arms whirring in pure delight, after £45 million summer signing Liam Delap hammered home his second goal of the evening to seal the three points.
While the win lifted Forest out of the Premier League relegation zone and ended a grueling winless run, Glasner used his post-match media availability to lay down a strict, uncompromising directive for the ongoing international break.
”If We Lay Back, We Get Beaten”: Glasner Refuses to Celebrate
Speaking to the media ahead of the two-week domestic pause, Glasner invoked a famous Austrian proverb to remind his players that the hard work is only just beginning:
“We say in Austria, one swallow doesn’t make a summer. And it’s the same here. It was a great win. It was a great performance. But it’s now 11 players, I guess, who go to the national teams, playing for their countries.
“Hopefully everybody comes back well. And it’s then to continue. Not now, lay back. No, it’s now take this confidence, take this spirit and keep going, so that’s what we need to do.
“If we now believe we can lay back and drop somewhere by two, three, four percentage, then you get beaten, because it’s the Premier League.”
11 Stars Depart as Forest Schedule Mid-Break Friendly
While Glasner recovers from his touchline sprint, Forest will see a staggering 11 first-team regulars jet off on international duty, including Brazil’s Jair Cunha, England’s Morgan Gibbs-White, Ivory Coast duo Ousmane Diomandé and Ibrahim Sangaré, and Wales fullback Neco Williams.
For the core squad remaining at the Nigel Doughty Academy, Glasner has scheduled an intense mid-break friendly to address tactical weaknesses before traveling to face a red-hot Bournemouth side on Saturday, November 21st.
- Fixing the Possession Deficit: Despite destroying City on the counter-attack, Forest held a miserable 21 per cent possession. Glasner acknowledged that while low-block counter-attacking worked against Pep Guardiola, Forest must become far more dominant on the ball against mid-table opponents.
- Injury Recoveries: The fortnight pause provides invaluable recovery time for fullback Nicolo Savona as he works back from a serious knee injury, while striker Igor Jesus builds fitness after making his return from a calf strain.
The Benchmark Set for Trentside Revival
Nottingham Forest’s victory over Manchester City set the absolute standard for what Glasner’s tactical system can achieve when executed with maximum work rate.
However, as Glasner warned, if Forest drop their focus by even a fraction when domestic action resumes at Bournemouth, their historic Saturday night at the City Ground will be wasted. The manager has demanded total focus to ensure Forest’s revival is here to stay.
