Your Nottingham Forest digest for Thursday, October 20.
Forest star makes 'boring' admission
Emmanuel Dennis is a self-confessed rogue in the dressing room, but the striker has admitted that the first month of his time at Nottingham Forest left him bored.
The Nigerian international joined the Reds from Watford in the summer for an undisclosed transfer fee, believed to around £20m, as part of the club's massive spending spree. He has scored one goal so far this season.
Dennis has revealed that he loves to "have fun" by teasing his teammates in the dressing room and on the training ground. But he was too shy to do so when he first joined as there were too many new faces.
READ MORE: Liverpool confirm 'serious' injury blow ahead of Nottingham Forest clash
SEE ALSO: Spanish boss 'snubbed Forest' prior to Cooper contract decision
Forest solve one problem but have another to address
It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t, as Steve Cooper again conceded afterwards, “exactly what” he wants his team to be. But it was another small step.
There will come a time when the Reds need to take bigger strides; when they need to be braver and more adventurous going forward. But to get to that point, they had to make themselves harder to beat and more defensively sound.
They needed to plug a leaky defence and give themselves something to build on. And a hard-fought goalless draw away to Brighton and Hove Albion added to the foundations which had been put in place in the previous two games.
Steve Cooper explains team selection
Head coach Steve Cooper believes Nottingham Forest are showing signs of progress, as they try to find the right balance between defence and attack.
The Reds have tightened up at the back in recent games. And keeping a clean-sheet to earn a point at Brighton and Hove Albion was another important step.
Cooper was pleased with the commitment from his players at the Amex Stadium, though. He made three changes to his starting line-up, bringing in Serge Aurier, Orel Mangala and Jesse Lingard.
Neco Williams makes Forest prediction
Nottingham Forest full-back Neco Williams believes that the Reds have something to build upon ahead of a personal reunion with boyhood club Liverpool this weekend.
The 21-year-old joined their academy at the age of six and came through the ranks before breaking into the first team to make 33 appearances for the club before leaving permanently last season for Forest. Williams has been ever-present for Steve Cooper's side this season and showed his defensive versatility by shifting across to left-back for the 0-0 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion.
That change to the backline, with Serge Aurier returning to the team at right-back in place of Harry Toffolo, resulted in a first away clean sheet and just a second point on their travels of the season. With familiar faces in the form of Jurgen Klopp's side up next for the Wales international, Williams believes they have taken a positive step ahead of another tough test.
