Sabri Lamouchi has reiterated his desire to hang on to Joe Worrall amid continued speculation about the Nottingham Forest defender’s future.
The Reds head coach is keen to trim his squad after making 11 summer signings so far, with a number of fringe players free to move on.
But Lamouchi wants to keep his “best players” as his team look to get their first points on the board at Huddersfield Town on Friday night.
The arrival of Scott McKenna on Wednesday led to concern among some fans it could mean a departure for Worrall, given Burnley remain interested and Forest have a number of centre-backs on their books.
The manager, though, believes the academy product can play a key part in once again aiming for promotion.
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“I will repeat, I want to keep the best players,” Lamouchi told NottinghamshireLive.
“If you have huge goals, you need to keep the best players. And for me, Joe Worrall is one of the best defenders in this league.
“I want to keep him.
“Of course we need to reduce the squad. I want a squad of 22 or 23 players and three goalkeepers, not more.
“The club know that and they have started to work on that.
“But if I know my job and know my business, the players know the situation.
“We just need to all be professional, honest and do our job. We are working together and we need to respect each other.”
Getting the recruitment right has been crucial for Lamouchi this summer, after agonisingly missing out on the top six last time around.
But with relatively few players having left, he is currently having to manage a sizeable group.
“It is my responsibility to manage the squad,” he said. “I prefer to have the choice between some options, rather than not having the choice.
“I can say, ‘okay, let’s go’. It is different to before.
“We never made a point last season of the crucial moment where we lost points, where we could, at that moment, have made the difference to be stronger.
“With my staff and the club, we did it afterwards and we decided to change the way a little bit.
“I think the club are taking the right way - to sign important players for the Championship, who have a fantastic mentality.
“They are all winners. They are all positive and very happy to sign for this fantastic club.
“We need positive energy. We need quality. We need more options, if you want to do something different.”
The influx of arrivals means Lamouchi’s idea of his first-choice XI has also changed as recruits have been added.
Although 4-2-3-1 may still be his preferred formation, he has not ruled out playing two up front.
He tweaked the system in the first half of last weekend’s defeat to Cardiff City, as Lyle Taylor came on to partner Lewis Grabban - and is willing to deploy them as a partnership again.
“Of course that can be an option. But for that we need both players at 100 percent physically,” said Lamouchi.
“But there’s no doubt, when they are both 100 percent, together they will be one of the best attacks in this league.”
He added: “When something is not going in the right way, I need to change it.
“If something is wrong, maybe it’s because you are doing something wrong. So you need new faces, new system, new players and new energy.
“But you have to stay focused on the pitch. Stay focused on the game. Stay focused on the opponent. Stay focused on your goals, because this is just league game number three.
“We have signed two players this week (McKenna and Harry Arter) and probably they will be involved in the 18 on Friday. But they are not magicians, to come in and suddenly make the difference.
“Cyrus Christie has just signed. Tyler Blackett has played just one league game for us. Taylor hasn’t started.
“But for me, it is really important, because in my mind, my system, my first XI, the way I want to play and the way I want to achieve the goal is clear, very clear.
“When everything is clear, it is clear for the dressing room and clear for the players.
“When you have more options and everyone agrees on the goal, everyone understands, then everyone should be professional.
“The players want to play and they want to win. It is win-win.
“We are all in the same boat and want to achieve the same goal. So how can we achieve that? By being all together, working hard, being humble, being honest and being professional.
“We are at a fantastic club, and we all need to take responsibility.”
