One Forest ace is giving Glasner what he needs amid Premier League struggles

Few Nottingham Forest players surely could consider themselves immune from Oliver Glasner’s criticism after their 2-0 defeat to Brentford.

The Austrian pulled no punches with his post-match comments as he called out his squad. It was the second time he had done so in a matter of days, having also demanded players take responsibility for the club’s predicament in his pre-match press conference.

Glasner was considerably calmer when he faced the media on Thursday than he was after the final whistle in west London. The point he was trying to make remained the same, though - he wants the dressing room to step up.

On Saturday, he blasted his team for being out-run by their opponents this season and pledged he would implement changes. He bluntly stated players must either buy-in to what he wants to do or move on.

There can be little doubt the Reds head coach was equally withering in the confines of the dressing room as he was in public. A number of his group have not hit their previous high standards so far this term. Many have underperformed.

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James McAtee is an exception. After a difficult first year in the Garibaldi, the former Manchester City man is up there as one of Forest’s standout players in 2026/27 and was the visitors’ best performer at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Against the Bees, Opta’s stats show McAtee led the way in most departments for Glasner’s charges. He completed the most passes, with 56 of his 72 attempted finding their target, and was also top for successful dribbles (two).

His 96 touches of the ball and his 24 completed passes in the final third were both match-high stats. In terms of the latter, wing-back Daniel Munoz registered the second-most for the Reds but his 12 represented half of McAtee’s tally.

It was courtesy of the midfielder the visitors recorded their only effort on target in the game. The travelling fans had to wait until the 79th minute for that to happen, with McAtee’s attempt comfortably gathered by Caoimhin Kelleher.

Talking about Forest’s woes in front of goal is firmly in broken record territory. McAtee did his best to try to change that narrative in the capital, but to little avail.

He chipped in with three shots, the same number as Morgan Gibbs-White and Liam Delap, and he created two chances for Glasner’s side - only one less than Jair Cunha and one more than Gibbs-White managed. He also put in two crosses as he tried to make things happen.

McAtee finished the game with the third-highest xG (expected goals) among his teammates. His 0.15 put him ahead of Gibbs-White (0.13) and only just below Liam Delap (0.18) and substitute Ryan Yates (0.28) who headed a golden chance off target in the second half.

McAtee contributed to the Reds establishing some control in proceedings by winning seven recoveries. His 18 final third entries was by far the most among his colleagues, illustrating how he tried to be progressive and act as playmaker.

Glasner recognised the 24-year-old’s contribution when he said: “It's not for me to blame the players individually or whatever. No, I just think we need to change things all together, as I mentioned. But we need the players because they are the protagonists on the pitch.

“When I see, for example, James McAtee in the 89th minute, a clearance at the corner flag, when he was sprinting back 60 yards, overtaking all the others. I see this effort.

“But again, we are making too many easy mistakes. We had no game, not one, where we didn't have the chance to win the game. We had not one game where we haven't been competitive. But we are making the mistakes at the wrong time.”

On Saturday, Forest dominated possession (58.5%) and completed 377 accurate passes (77.1% accuracy) compared to the hosts’ 246 as they controlled the territorial flow and tempo of proceedings. They established sustained territory in the right area of the pitch, completing 96 passes in the final third (with 67.1% accuracy) and logging 22 touches inside the penalty box while restricting Brentford to just 13 of the same.

Yet the Reds returned to the East Midlands empty-handed and with Glasner’s furious rant ringing in their ears. Once again, they were blunt up top - meaning McAtee’s hard work went to waste.

Forest notched up 15 shots to the Bees’ seven as they generated an xG (expected goals) of 0.86. Nine of the visitors’ efforts were from inside the penalty area, eight of their attempts were off target and six were blocked.

The spotlight continues to fall on Delap, given the club spent £45 million in the summer to snap him up from Chelsea in a bid to solve their goalscoring problems. The front man was hooked after 65 minutes having managed just 17 touches, made four passes, completed zero dribbles, won zero duels (including aerial duels) and failed to hit the target with any of his three shots.

The Reds need significantly more bang for their buck; they also need to ensure Delap is not as isolated as he was for spells on Saturday. He is far from the only player who needs to step up to the plate and deliver a response to Glasner’s remarks, though.

Winger Dan Ndoye has been a mainstay this term but was largely anonymous last weekend. Like Delap, he was hauled off in the 65th minute after registering a measly 21 touches and committing four fouls.

Between them, Delap and Ndoye managed just five touches in the opposition penalty area and 38 touches overall. Little wonder both were substituted.

What happens next is the big question, given Glasner has said changes will be made now he is no longer prepared to “compromise” in an attempt to spark a turnaround. Many fans will argue the formation should be the first port of call for the manager to address as they remain convinced the current set-up is not getting the best out of the resources available.

Overall, Saturday’s defeat resulted in more questions than answers. Should the blame lie with the manager or with the players for the club’s lowly position in the table? Are Forest not very good or have they just been unlucky?

Two errors and two deflected goals cost them any points against Brentford. They gave up an xG of just 0.46 but still conspired to lose, with the decisive second goal conceded on the counter 15 minutes from time.

Afterwards, Glasner mooted a sixth manager in little more than a year could be on the cards if there is no improvement in results. If he wanted to, he said, he could easily move on to a different job but it would do little to break the cycle Trentside.

“If I want, I could start in two weeks somewhere else,” he stated. “I won't do it, but the players, the staff, they remain in the same situation. And it's the same, sorry for the word, **** situation that the club had last year.

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