Signs look good in Reds' relegation dogfight

Last updated : 22 February 2004 By Daniel Mounser
Guaranteed to be windy or wet or both, the pitch is usually poor and if I was a betting man (ahem) then you'd expect a few bookings perhaps a sending off. Ronnie Moore has built a good little club there who are always hard to beat and you can never travel to Rotherham confident of three points.

Forest are in a dire situation at the moment, one which a lot of football fans would maybe associate with a club such as Rotherham but we're in that relegation zone and Joe Kinnear has brought a much-needed kick up the backside to Nottingham Forest Football Club. One which needed to happen and although we loved Harty (and still do) something had to give.

One thing Mr Hart used to do as a manager was to take positives out of any performance whether we lost 1-0 or drew 6-6. We didn't play particularly well against Rotherham but it's always refreshing when you go home with something to show for your efforts.

Kinnear told BBC Sport: "We're in a dogfight and we're showing tremendous courage and attitude,"

"It's still very much in our own hands - if we win our game in hand we go above Derby and we have a better goal difference than most of the teams."

They say that a sign of a good team is when they play badly and win. Big Fat Joe's men played around the average mark and came away with a point which isn't exactly the same but is just as important, especially given our lowly league position.

Forest battled hard, got stuck in and plugged away until the goal came. In my opinion, they are encouraging signs in our bid to prevent what Manchester City and Sheffield Wednesday couldn't avoid - the drop into Division Two.