Nottingham Forest defender Joe Worrall has found the step up to the Premier League a challenge, both physically and mentally.
That is according to BT Sport commentator Darren Fletcher, who says he is delighted the central defender has shown what he can do in the top flight recently after experiencing a difficult first season at the level.
Fletcher says the 26-year-old club captain has not been helped by injuries to Moussa Niakhate, Scott McKenna and Willy Boly, while Felipe did not bring his ability and experience to the team until January.
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Fletcher told the Garibaldi Red podcast: "One thing I've seen in the Premier League - and Liverpool are a prime example of this from a couple of seasons back - is if you have a revolving door of defenders you get inconsistency.
"Liverpool could never find the right blend with Virgil van Dijk injured. Forest have never had a settled back two or three. Joe is now benefitting from having Felipe and Moussa Niakhate in the team.
"Felipe is, or has been, a Champions League level centre-back. He's the A side of a pairing you can lean on. Niakhate has the athleticism that we've not had all season.
"As players have got better and fitter in that area, Joe has benefitted as much as anyone. Anyone who plays next to van Dijk looks better. If Konate is the A defender, they look frail.
"When Joe was hearing it from supporters and confidence was low, he was able to go away and dig deep. Resilient people come through the academy.
"He said to me privately, 'This is hard'. In football terms but also psychologically, he had to dig deep and come out the other side. And I am proud of him as this was a sink or swim moment."
Fellow guest Daniel Storey, chief football writer of the I paper, pointed out that Worrall has had to come off the bench a surprisingly high number of times. He feels Worrall has done a good job, better than his critics would believe in his 28 appearances this season.
"He's had to come on as sub nine times," Storey added. "That's an awful lot in the Premier League. Normally what managers do now is bring on an extra midfielder for a striker," he said.
"I know his critics focus on Wolves at home as we conceded when he was on the pitch. He also came on in Brighton at home, Liverpool at home, Southampton at home and Brighton away. That's about a third of our points.
"More often than not, Joe comes on and Forest look better for it. I really felt for him earlier in the season. He deserved from a number of supporters, almost all online, he deserved better. I'm glad he's able to show them through example."
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