'Forget about Djed Spence' - Nottingham Forest's Neco…

'Forget about Djed Spence' - Nottingham Forest's Neco Williams earns rave review after Liverpool win

Former Nottingham Forest full-back Brian Laws has praised the improved performances of Neco Williams in recent weeks.

Williams, 21, has started the last three games for Steve Cooper's side after dropping to the bench following a change of formation for the 1-1 draw against Aston Villa.

With strong outings at both right-back and left-back within a back four, Williams has contributed heavily to the upturn in results for The Reds. Forest have conceded just two goals across their last four fixtures, which included an impressive 1-0 against Liverpool and a resolute 0-0 draw with Brighton.

Speaking to The Athletic, Laws highlighted the improvements made by Williams in recent weeks, where he praised the "positive performances" from the Wales international.

“He is coming through a negative spell with some positive performances and that will help him mentally. I think there has been some good coaching involved,” said the former Forest man.

“You can see, clearly, that he has benefited from curtailing his enthusiasm to get forward all the time.

“I liked what I saw in the early days. He has energy to burn, he likes to get up and down… he looked like a really good asset — and that we could forget about Djed Spence very quickly.

"But, like other players at Forest, as the season started to unfold, his performances dipped. He was playing in a way that was not controlled. He was going forward unnecessarily and at the wrong times; he was getting caught out and showing naivety.

“Forest, as a team, did not have any real understanding of when to defend and when to go and attack. It left a lot of gaps at the back.

"But since Cooper has changed the formation and the approach, Williams has looked far, far better. He has become far more solid as a defender.”