Joe Worrall interview: Nottingham Forest captain says Premier League survival trumped promotion to the top flight after 23 years away
Sky Sports exclusive: Nottingham Forest captain Joe Worrall on the club’s transfer policy, “embarrassing” away form and why Premier League survival trumped promotion from the Championship.
With 23 years having elapsed since between Nottingham Forest’s last two Premier League seasons, their return in 2022/23 was always likely to be dramatic in one way or another.
Whether it was – what was seen from the outside as – an overzealous approach to transfers, intense pressure on manager Steve Cooper or helping to deny Arsenal the Premier League title, fans of the Tricky Trees undoubtedly saw their blood pressure rise countless times.
Boyhood fan and current captain Joe Worrall sits relaxed as he assesses the trials and tribulations of that campaign. He is open, critical where necessary, but also complementary. He understands the expectations that come as part of the job.
“Life in the Premier League was something that didn’t creep up on us slowly,” he says in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports.
Joe Worrall opens up on Nottingham Forest’s transfer policy and how it has improved the club
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“It was full force and we felt that quite early on, the difference in level from the Championship to the Premier League. But we steadily got to grips with it and put in a real good account of ourselves. Especially at home, we took some big scalps and will be remembered for beating Arsenal and giving Man City the title.
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“That game was also huge for us; to retain our Premier League status after such a long period away, with all the players we signed and such a rollercoaster season, we did it in style and we did it efficiently as well.
“The expectation of Forest is always huge and the expectation for us to stay in the league was there, but it would have been a dream to be higher up the league with less games to play.
“The way it all happened was fitting for how our season went. We were written off by all the pundits, all the media and some of our fans were thinking we were doomed, but the belief in the core group was always there and it came up trumps at the end.”
Image: Steve Cooper's side take on Arsenal on the opening weekend of the Premier League season
A glimpse back at the ante-post relegation odds for last season shows Forest were one of the favourites to return to the Championship first time around.
Beating those odds and proving doubters wrong made it all the sweeter for Worrall.
“Last season trumps the promotion season, for me,” he says, with certainty.
“Given the ups and downs we went through and the things that went on behind the scenes that the media and the fans don’t really know about, it was such a huge accomplishment for the team, for the manager and his staff, for the whole club, for the city, for the fans who had suffered at different stages of the season.
Image: The 26-year-old is approaching 200 league appearances for Forest
“The pundits and the media are only doing their jobs at the end of the day, so there’s no animosity or grudges held towards any particular person.
“But you are constantly being seen as relegation favourites, looking at articles that are being floated about, hearing from pundits who are speaking about how poorly we play – and they don’t know half the story of what goes on day-to-day.
“We knew we were good enough to stay in the league, it just took a bit of time to suss out he strongest way of us picking up results.”
Last season’s work is done. There has been time to analyse, but survival means there is little reason to dwell; instead lessons are there to be learned and put right.
Asked whether he and his team-mates can take inspiration from the way Brentford flourished in their second season in the top flight last term, Worrall responds quickly.
“Definitely not,” he quips. “We only focus on ourselves, to be honest with you. I speak on behalf of everybody at the club; the way we are as a group, we don’t base ourselves off anybody in the slightest.
“We’re Nottingham Forest, we’re our own special, special club – an institution, if you like. Yes, you can look at a team like Brentford and look at how well they’ve done, but, at the same time, they are a totally different football club to us.”
Having received some complimentary tickets from Ben Duckett and Stuart Broad, Nottingham Forest’s Joe Worrall managed to get on the pitch and show us his bowling action during The Ashes
The conversation turns to Forest’s recruitment last season. The club brought in 19 permanent signings and three loan players in the summer before five permanent and two on loan in January.
One way or another, the squad upheaval affected the outcome of the campaign. The 26-year-old acknowledges this, but also that turnover is key in overall development and improvement.
“It’s definitely a lot less hectic, purely because of the number of players who came in last season. We had to replace players we lost when we got promoted. This season, now we’ve got a more stable squad.
“I’ve spoken about how Forest need to keep evolving and how we need to improve, so that’s something that is always in the forefront of your mind, that we need to be better – and that means players coming in. It’s about stabilising the core group of players.
“The lads who do come on board and join us must really understand, one, what it means to play for Forest and, two, because we had it last season, succeeding in the league.
“I think the fans and players are all for it because we need to step up, we don’t need to stand still; it’s always about looking forward and not backwards. We’ve got full faith in the process.”
On Saturday, Forest will open their second season back in the Premier League with a trip to the Emirates to face Arsenal.
Worrall says Forest will be geared up to face a Gunners side out for revenge following the aforementioned defeat in May that took the title from their grasp for the last time.
The north Londoners have lost their last three trips to the City Ground, but won both reverse fixtures 5-0. Following that, Forest will face both Manchester teams and Chelsea before the end of September.
“Arsenal will be out for revenge, definitely,” he admits.
“Hopefully it’s not as much of a shock as it was going there last season. We know how good Arsenal have been over the last few seasons and how their teams approach games. But they need to be aware that we’re going to be well up for it and a lot stronger than we were last year.
“In my opinion, as a player on the pitch, it doesn’t really matter when you play these teams. You’re going to have to play them at some point, so you’re just hoping they’ve not had as good a start and preparation as we’ve had.
“You’d rather play them maybe when they are cold than when they’ve picked up a few wins and are fighting to push up the table, I suppose. But it’s swings and roundabouts and the same for us as well.”
Image: The Reds' only away win last season came against Southampton in January
Worrall is, though, perhaps most frank when he speaks about Forest’s home form last season. They managed just a solitary league win – 1-0 vs Southampton on January 4 – and collected only eight points from 19 matches on the road.
Even a smidgen of improvement this term would likely see their survival chances improve greatly.
“The away form last season was poor – it was more than poor; it was embarrassing, really. We got away with it last year because the home form was so good,” he says.
“It’s something we have had a serious look at. It’s the approach of games, how we go to different places and approach the start and half-time intervals. We’re always conceding quite late in halves and that’s something we’ve hopefully addressed.
“But we’ve not played an away game yet, so we can’t base last season off anything. It’s how we approach the start of this season that really matters.”
