Former England striker Dean Ashton feels Nottingham Forest are short on quality and need some smart recruitment this summer if they’re to challenge next season.
Forest’s hopes of fighting for a place in the Championship play-offs came to an end earlier this month with a run of four straight defeats, which led to calls for Martin O’Neill’s head from some sections of the Reds’ fanbase.
Those calls were eased somewhat when Forest destroyed play-off chasing Middlesbrough on Easter Monday to end that wretched run, and show another glimpse of the quality they do possess on their day.
Ashton, who is a regular watcher of Championship football, believes that Forest do have some quality within their ranks, but need to supplement that with more in the summer, if they’re to avoid a repeat of this season’s disappointment.
The Reds splashed the cash last summer, breaking their club record to bring in £13m Joao Carvalho from Benfica before Lewis Grabban arrived from Premier League outfit Bournemouth for £6m, and Ashton is curious to see how the club operate this time around.
“I think it’s a difficult one for Martin O’Neill,” Ashton told Football League World.
“If you look at the beginning of the season they played some nice football and if you look at some of their players, the likes of Matty Cash and Joe Lolley, as well as Lewis Grabban, it’s more a case of filling out the squad with quality.”
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O’Neill has a number of key decisions to make regarding the make-up of his squad this summer, with the likes of Jack Colback, Pele, Molla Wague, Sam Byram and Diogo Goncalves all nearing the end of loan spells at the City Ground, and speculation hanging over the future of one or two others.
The Ulsterman will likely be backed by owner Evangelos Marinakis this summer to shape his squad for a tilt at promotion next term, and Ashton admits to being intrigued about the policy O’Neill will adopt going forward.
”I’m pretty sure he’ll already be looking at the squad,” he said.
“With the money they spent this summer, it’ll be interesting to see if they can do that again or go down another route.”
