Promotion to the Premier League would be a ‘game changer’ for Nottingham Forest, and allow them to become a force on a global scale.
That’s the verdict of the Reds’ chief commercial officer, David Cook, who believes promotion, coupled with the club’s unique and unrivalled history, would see their profile grow significantly.
Whether promotion to the top flight happens this year or next remains to be seen, but Forest, after an absence of almost two decades, hope the wait won’t extend much further.
After Saturday’s late, late show against Swansea City at a sold-out City Ground, Martin O’Neill’s promotion hopefuls are just two points adrift of the play-off pack with seven games to go – a couple of which come against those teams above them in the table.
Promotion to the top flight would open up numerous other opportunities for the club, famous for its exploits under Brian Clough, says Cook.
“It’s a game changer in terms of the income from the Premier League,” Cook told BBC Radio Nottingham’s The Terrace.
“The £110m/120m that comes from Sky, we would be able to use that to enhance the playing squad, but at the same time, you can look to build the club and invest in certain things - the nice-to-haves, rather than the essentials.
“The Premier League will provide a whole host of different challenges as well as exciting things.
“It takes us on to a different level internationally.”
Forest’s story is unique - the subject of numerous books, television shows and films charting the rise from provincial club to champions of Europe.
And it’s that wondrous heritage which would give them a different opportunity across the globe, especially in emerging markets.
“We’re lucky that we’ve got that great story about the club from winning European Cups," Cook explained. "If we go into the Premier League, we’ve got a real opportunity to jump and elevate the club’s brand in growing markets like China, Malaysia, Indonesia, big population bases where the interest in the story will elevate us above a lot of clubs which have been established Premier League clubs.
“Let’s be honest, 40 years ago, those two European Cups are defining moments for the club, and yes, we’re looking to push on and create new history and new memories, but don’t ever lose sight of what an amazing achievement it was. That’s something we should be proud of and talk about around the world.
“I worked in the Premier League 12 or 13 years ago with Everton. I still keep in touch with a couple of people there and it has completely changed, even from then - the demands, the interest in markets and commercial opportunities that arrive.”
That’s for the future, though, with the focus being on the remaining seven games of the league season.
Such is the nature of the division, one win or defeat changes the landscape remarkably and Cook knows a win at Rotherham on Saturday, coupled with other results going their way, could see Forest end the weekend in the top six.
But despite that, Cook says the club are not getting ahead of themselves.
“To use the classic cliché, we’re one game at a time. Not particularly, right now,” he said of possible play-off plans.
“The league will send us documentation in the run-up to the play-offs which will give us guidance on timelines of how quickly we’ll have to turn around ticket sales, if that happens.
“We’re probably a few weeks away from having to worry about those details, but we’ll be ready to go if we get there, don’t worry about that.”
Forest’s vast improvement on the pitch this season has seen remarkable interest off it, with seven sell-outs in the last eight games seeing the average crowd at the City Ground rise above 28,000 for the first time since Clough’s halcyon days.
“Winning generates more interest,” Cook explained.
“If we can get a couple of wins on the bounce, we know we’re right in the mix in the play-offs.”
