Former Nottingham Forest defender Joel Lynch says the Reds were "mediocre" when he was at the City Ground.
Lynch played almost 100 games for Forest during four years with the club.
After joining the Reds on loan from Brighton in September 2008, he made the move permanent a year later and stayed until 2012, leaving to join Huddersfield.
Forest finished 19th in the Championship twice during Lynch's time at the City Ground, but they also twice reached the play-offs semi-finals under Billy Davies, although Lynch played very little during both of those league campaigns.
“I think I’ve been in football long enough now to know, I’ve not really had that success, I’ve always sort of been in a mediocre side (at their level),” Lynch, who is now at Sunderland after leaving QPR, told the Sunderland Echo.
“I haven’t had much play-off experience or won things, and I’ve always wanted that.
“I thought the challenge here would be good for that.
“I’ve always thought about the best deal and stuff like that, but for me now it’s about being part of something and having that feeling back again.
“My career hasn’t always been what I wanted, I’ve wanted that success so badly and being part of Sunderland, a team that should be winning or is winning, that’s what I wanted to be part of.”
