Glasner identifies 'biggest problem' Nottingham Forest need to fix after defeat

Head coach Oliver Glasner has pledged to support his Nottingham Forest players as they work to overcome some of the scars of the past.

Glasner felt the Reds had a “heaviness” about them in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Coventry City. It was a flat performance from his team as they racked up plenty of chances but lacked a cutting edge up front.

Forest have not won at home in the league since April and are yet to score a goal in four fixtures at the City Ground this term. After their latest blank, Glasner reiterated the need for stability as he tries to address the issues still lingering from a turbulent 2025/26 campaign.

“I felt, maybe for the first time, a little bit of the heaviness of the past,” he said. “The players were very quiet before the game.

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“Second half, we made one big mistake where we got punished. And then I could see the players getting nervous, the entire City Ground getting nervous. It's not blaming anybody because I could see huge effort from the players and I can understand, because everybody has this in his mind what happened (before).

“The players tried and tried and tried, but then just taking wrong decisions and always immediately crossing, not preparing the situation. They felt being in a rush and that now we need to get the equaliser.

“I just saw and felt that everybody with a red shirt got nervous. This is for me now - and I'm still in the process of understanding the players and understanding Forest - maybe the biggest part that we have to get under control, not to feel this pressure.

“When we took the lead at Villa Park (in last weekend’s 2-1 win over Aston Villa), it felt like tons of weights fell from the players' shoulders and then we played free. I showed and told the players this, that it felt for 15 or 20 minutes like being in the flow.

“Today we felt, ‘Ah, we have to win now, we play a promoted team at home, we have to win, we have to win, we have to win’. We all know, then some things don't work.

“The biggest problem was not the football skill, it was more the mental side. That's why it's pretty clear now that the players need support.

“They try everything and give their best for Nottingham Forest and they love to play here. In this situation, they need my support, the support of the entire staff, of the entire club and also from our fans - and I know we can count on our fans.

“It is not just the home record. The negative home record is maybe the consequence of this. When you are fighting against relegation for more or less the entire season, things happen. I think we all know this from our own lives, that when things happen in the past and then maybe a similar situation comes, you remember these things.

“They are human beings. They wanted this win and sometimes when you want things too much, they don't happen.”

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To get it, it's a simple one-two punch.

Glasner now has three weeks to ponder the Reds’ start to the season and the road ahead. There have been positive signs in the first few games under the Austrian but also plenty still to be worked on.

“Believe me, this is for me the worst situation because I will just be thinking about it,” he said. “My family deserves that the husband and the dad comes home for a bit, but I know sometimes they are talking to me and I'm not really listening because my thoughts are somewhere else. It's now a lot of brain work I have to do. I will think about it, of course.

“The good thing is I experienced it a few times. That's why I will look back and think back, but the first intuition is always the best.

“For me, it's pretty clear. If I see lack of effort, you need a kick in your backside. If you have good effort and you give your all but things don't work, you need support. So that's why all the players will get support. It doesn't mean they can do what they want, but now it's encouraging them not to lose their belief in themselves or in their skills, because then it will work.

“We all know in football things can change quickly. It can go within one week from being three games unbeaten and winning for the first time after 32 years at Villa Park to having the worst goal record at home. That's football.

“In my career, I have some really terrible records. But fortunately I have more positive records, and we will hopefully have more positive records at the end.”

He added: “My message at the beginning was we need stability. We can see we are not stable in the way we play football. Psychologically, we are not stable. And this is what we have to work on, and this is what we will work on.”

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