Former Nottingham Forest striker Glenn Murray has shared a heartfelt message with Reds fans after returning to the City Ground on Saturday lunchtime.
The retired striker was on Trentside for Forest's win over Derby County as one of Sky Sports' team of pundits.
He was making a return to the City Ground having briefly played for Forest towards the end of last season.
Murray signed a short-term deal with the Reds in February 2021 and went on to score twice in 16 Championship appearances for Forest.
But the 38-year-old striker was denied the opportunity to play in front of the raucous Reds fanbase as the Government's coronavirus restrictions at the time meant fixtures had to be played behind closed doors.
Murray admitted this regret in a post to his Twitter account, saying: "Brilliant to go back to the City Ground to watch the East Midlands Derby & finally witness the @NFFC faithful in full voice... just incredible!
"Absolutely loved my short time there but will forever wish I had the opportunity to take in that famous atmosphere as a home player."
The true City Ground crowd experience was also an eye-opening experience for head coach Steve Cooper after the victory over Derby as he mentioned the electric atmosphere created on the banks of the River Trent.
Reflecting on his first experience of an East Midlands Derby, a grinning Cooper said: "Now I’m standing here, I can say I enjoyed it.
"I liked it when we went 2-0 up and there was the sense that we were in complete control of the game. We were playing well, and I thought we might go score another one.
"It was a bit gutting to go 2-1.
"But I loved it!
"When we went 2-0 up, it was amazing. You had to take a deep breath and go, ‘wow, how good is it to be part of this?’. And then you’ve got to focus back on the game."
