One of Nottingham Forest’s promotion winning squad, Keinan Davis, has said that the team spirit in the group was the key to the team earning their place in the Premier League at the end of last season.
Davis, who spent the second half of last season on loan at the City Ground from Aston Villa, was a key part of the group who got the club back to the Premier League for the first time in 23 years. Despite his contribution, the striker’s loan move wasn’t made permanent in the summer.
Davis instead completed another loan deal to the Championship, joining newly-relegated Watford on a temporary deal. He scored his first goal for the club at the weekend in a 2-2 draw vs Sunderland, and is eyeing a repeat of last season’s achievements with Forest.
READ MORE: Worrall, Yates, Johnson - Is it time to leave out Nottingham Forest promotion heroes?
READ MORE: Nottingham Forest promotion hero breaks silence after sealing shock transfer
"We can achieve promotion, easily," he told the Watford Observer. "It’s not been the best of starts, but we’ve played some tough teams and still managed to pick up points despite the performances not being there.
"The new arrivals like me are now settling in, and we have players like Tom (Cleverley) and Imran (Louza) who will play a massive part when they come back from injury. If we stick together then, yeah, we’ll achieve promotion."
"When you come in as a striker there’s that pressure to score goals and get one early for the club. Scoring on Saturday took the weight off my shoulders and gave me confidence. When you’ve scored you can’t wait for the next game and another opportunity to do the same."
Looking back on last season, where Forest achieved promotion via the play-offs, Davis has said that everyone pulling in the same direction led to the achievement being reached. It will be something that Steve Cooper’s new look squad will look to replicate this season as they aim to survive in the Premier League.
"For me, the key thing is team spirit," he added. "You need to have everyone pulling in the same direction. Last season, every player at Forest, and anyone we signed, they only wanted one thing: to get promoted.
"It didn’t matter who they were, they wanted promotion. We had players on loan who wanted to show the club they were on loan from that they’re good enough to play in the first team and get promoted. If an academy player came in, they wanted to stay in the first team and get promoted. One of the most important things is any successful team is team spirit and togetherness."
How key was Davis is Forest's promotion last season? Tell us in the comments section
READ NEXT:
- Nottingham Forest appointment rumour explained as ex-Barcelona man linked with role
Evangelos Marinakis 'meddling' at Nottingham Forest criticism sparks angry backlash
Evangelos Marinakis recruits former Nottingham Forest transfer chief to new role
Pundit sets Evangelos Marinakis deadline to make key Nottingham Forest decision
