Warburton: Forest Aware Of Derby Importance

Mark Warburton says Nottingham Forest are fully aware of the importance of Sunday’s East Midlands derby against Derby County, as well as the effect it will have on the rest of the season.

The two sides meet for the first time this season at Pride Park Stadium, with both sides having an inconsistent start to the Sky Bet Championship season.

The Forest boss was keen express the impact of the derby, as well as the consequences that it could have going forward.

He told the media: “We appreciate the significance, don’t think that we don’t know what’s involved in the game on Sunday.

“Every player knows the importance of the game and what it means to the supporters.

“We need to look for a consistent level of performance, it’s a tough away venue, we need to give a good, quality performance that we can take into the next game.”

Ben Osborn has appeared in every league game so far this season and he says that there is frustration in the camp at their inconsistent start to the campaign.

He said: “There were a couple of performances where we were not at it as much as we should have been. In the Villa game and at Sheffield Wednesday we got caught out a little bit.

“There have been glimpses in games of what we can do. We lost 3-1 to Fulham but we played some really good stuff.”

The midfielder pointed out that Derby are in a similar situation though, with the sides only separated by two points going into the weekend.

He added: “Derby’s form has been indifferent as well. People talk about form going out of the window in derby games, but the important thing is that we are confident in what we can do and the way we play.

“We are confident that we will put a good performance in. It is a massive week and we are all looking forward to the game.”