It’s hard to get away from the fact that this season has turned out to be an immensely frustrating one.
It started with so much promise and hope that Nottingham Forest could finally end their 20-year wait for Premier League football, and is in danger of falling away to a disappointing conclusion.
A draw at Ipswich and away defeats at Rotherham and Sheffield Wednesday have effectively killed off any lingering hope of making the top six, and with five games left, it’s hard to make a case for Forest suddenly winning those and clawing back the six-point defecit.
Everybody has their ifs and buts throughout the season, we’ve had our fair share of shocking decisions when you remember Leeds and West Brom to name but two and there are others which would have had us further up the table, you can’t get away from the fact those wins could have made a big difference – however, there have been too many missed opportunities from the Reds, and for that, they have only themselves to blame.
Overall, it’s been a season of massive inconsistency and when you haven’t won two games in a row since September, you know those consistency levels have got to massively improve.
Results away from home just haven't been good enough, nor have they been in the last couple of years and that is something that has to change if Forest are to challenge Martin O'Neill to experiment with Nottingham Forest line-up as play-offs hopes fall away.
I think the club will reflect on this season and think, ‘well, we were close this term, being mediocre at times and not winning back-to-back games, if we improve that by even 10 percent, we’ll be a lot better off.’
Given where Forest have been in recent years, there’s still progress being made, especially off the pitch where things are finally in a good place, however, you’re only ever judged on what happens on it which will leave some disappointment.
It’s been a massive frustration and I think that’s the key word on everybody’s lips, the fans, the ex-players and at times, you feel loathed to criticism, but it really is the what ifs, what could have been that leaves you feeling a little flat.
What if we hadn’t thrown away a 3-0 lead at Norwich, what if we hang on to the 2-0 lead against Millwall, if Kemar Roofe’s goal at Leeds doesn’t stand and Joe Lolley’s strike at Preston does?
Martin O'Neill to experiment with Nottingham Forest line-up as play-offs hopes fall away
You can go back throughout the season and pick out moments where Forest haven’t been quite there, though some teams will have similar stories and arguably, the table rarely lies after 46 games.
Other teams have been losing at times throughout the season, look at Middlesbrough losing six in a row before Tuesday night, it’s just so annoying that we’ve not been good enough to take advantage when the chance has presented itself.
I sometimes wonder if you can look at what the teams got promoted did, and learn something from them and add it to what you’re doing.
Whatever the method will be, Forest simply have learn from their mistakes and be better next season.
