Aitor Karanka welcomes goal rush but says Nottingham Forest stars ‘cannot relax’

Posted Sunday, April 15, 2018 by PA

Aitor Karanka wants his Nottingham Forest players to show they deserve to be part of his Championship plans next season after a dramatic 2-1 win over Ipswich all but secured their safety.

An 89th-minute penalty from Ben Brereton and a stoppage-time volley from Joe Lolley cancelled out Grant Ward’s first-half header, just as it seemed Ipswich would kick-start the post-Mick McCarthy era with a 1-0 win.

Forest’s late show halted a run of six games without a goal and also left them 11 points clear of Barnsley, who have four games left to play, and nine points ahead of Bolton, who have three matches left.

But Karanka says the last four games of Forest’s season are still important for his squad – as he wants his players to prove they still have a part to play as he plans a summer overhaul of his squad.

“We cannot relax, now no,” said Karanka. “But we will change things. I have been thinking about the future since I arrived here.

“But it is true that we have players on the bench and players who are not in the squad who deserve their chance to show me that they are able and that they want to stay here next season.

“In the first half we had created chances and, on another day, we would have scored more goals.

“The main thing is that we believed until the last second and now we have four games left to play, in a comfortable position when, last season, the club was playing right up until the last second for survival.

“Now we are more comfortable; now we can keep going and we have time to try things for next season. Now we have time for the players to show that they want to be here for next season.”

Ipswich caretaker boss Bryan Klug, who took charge of the team for the first time since McCarthy departed Portman Road in midweek, felt his side had deserved more from the game.

“We had a fair bit of the ball, but we did not create too much, even if we got the goal, in the first half,” he said. “In the second half we did create a few chances, but we were not able to get that crucial second goal. Ultimately we paid for that.

“We started to sit a little bit too deep. Until the penalty, I was not ultra-concerned. But this is the harsh reality of football.

“I told the players they did not deserve that and I thanked them for their efforts.

“Since Mick left, they have been first class with us. Which is exactly what I expected, to be fair. We did not deserve the kick in the teeth that we had there at the end.”