Andy Reid has revealed his biggest regret as a player.
The former Ireland international played in the Premier League with Tottenham, Charlton, Sunderland and Blackpool.
But his failure to reach the top-flight with Nottingham Forest still eats away at the Dubliner.
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Reid had two spells at the City ground as a player, totalling 10 years, and all of those were played out in the old Division One and Championship.
He has, however, finally made it to the Promised Land with Forest - as a coach.
The Dubliner was brought up to Steve Cooper’s first-team coaching staff in the summer from his previous role as Under-23 head coach.
He revealed his joy in seeing Forest win promotion back to the Premier League for the first time since 1999.
But he added: “Probably the biggest regret of my playing career was the fact that I never got to play in the Premier League with Forest. It was always a massive ambition.
“I came close a couple of times, but probably the teams I played in were just a little bit short of making that step.”
Reid made the play-offs in 2002/03 and scored in a 5-4 aggregate defeat to Sheffield United.
“I think getting to the play-offs on my first time around, it was disappointing that Sheffield United beat us, but getting to the play-offs was an achievement in itself,” he said.
“When I came back, the team we played in under Billy Davies was a really enjoyable team to play in, lots of really good players.
“Maybe if we held it together a bit more - players and probably staff as well - we could have kicked on and done something bigger.”
The 29-time capped star hung his boots up in July 2016 at the age of 34, after a series of long-term injuries, and moved into coaching with the Irish underage sides.
He returned to Forest in 2020 as a technical coach with the Under-23 side, before taking over as head-coach a year later.
During the summer he got a call from Cooper and was asked to help out with the first-team on a temporary basis, before sealing a full-time promotion to the senior set-up.
“It’s been really good, probably unexpected to a certain extent,” he said.
“I came back in for pre-season and got a phone call from the gaffer saying for the moment they need somebody to come up and give them a bit of a dig out, which was great.
“So I was really, really pleased with that.
“It seemed to go really well, I seemed to fit in and do all the bits that the gaffer wanted from me.
“He was keen that I get a look at what the role entails as well and to make sure it was the right fit. And as it turns out, it was.
“So when he asked me to step up and take the role on a full-time basis, it was really nice.
“I’m really, really proud. It’s a club that I think everybody knows means a lot to me.
“I’ve covered a lot of different roles - player and as a coach as well.
“So to be able to step up is really nice and I am really proud to be up around the first team and to be able to contribute.
“I think I’ve done a decent job. My coaching journey has been a good one so far.
“I started off in international football, moved into club football and I feel like I’ve earned my stripes to a certain extent.
“So I feel like I’ve got the skillset to be able to do it. I also feel like there is still loads more to come from me.”
He hopes there is lots more to come too from Forest’s Premier League return.
They host fellow-promoted side Fulham tonight, in search of their second win of the season.
While it has been a difficult start so far, including a 6-0 thumping at the hands of Manchester City, Reid says calm heads will prevail in the Forest dressing room.
“When the good times come along you can’t let the highs be too high. For the players, we have to be consistent for them where the lows can’t be too low,” he said.
“We all have to drive each other and push each other, but also there has to be a degree of realism with what we are trying to build here and I think the fans play an important part in that.
“The atmosphere at the City Ground in the last 12 to 18 months has been as good as I ever remember it, as a player when I was here the first time, when I came back the second time, and that works both ways.
“The team has to give the fans something to cheer about and then the fans come along and back that up, and they have done magnificently. That’s going to be needed.”
As for his new role as a coach, Reid added: “I’ve got plenty of good memories of playing, but they are almost, in a lot of ways, quite a distant memory at this stage.
“It’s not to belittle them, because they were so enjoyable, but it’s all about coaching for me now.
“I love coaching, I’ve always loved my football, I think anyone who spent any time with me knew I always loved talking about football.
“I love the game, I love how it operates and now I am plying my trade in a completely different way, and I love my coaching.
“I have loved the journey I’ve been on so far and I still feel there is much more to come from it.”
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