Heading into a lengthy, first international break of the season, Oliver Glasner’s Nottingham Forest will be looking to build upon what has been a lack-lustre start to the Premier League campaign.

A summer of change, one which had seen the Austrian manager became the fifth in the City Ground hot-seat in just ten months of mayhem beside the banks of the Trent, also had a mini-saga of England’s World Cup midfielder, Elliot Anderson, eventually sold to Manchester City for £116 million.

He was joined through the exit door by Taiwo Awonyi, who joined Premier League new boys, Coventry City, for £9 million, alongside several others, including a significant number on loan, which included the big money signing last summer, midfielder Omari Hutchinson, who headed to the San Siro, and AC Milan, on a season-long loan.

There was to be mixed feelings amongst the Forest faithful regarding the signings at the City Ground also, Glasner splashing the cash on Chelsea striker, Liam Delap (£50 million), Sporting Lisbon centre-back, Ousmane Diomande (£34.3 million), and Crystal Palace right-back, Daniel Munoz (£22 million).

A hectic pre-season would see the Reds play nine games in around four weeks, victories being registered against Notts County (2-0), Blackburn Rovers (3-0), Portimonense (2-1), Bayer Leverkusen (2-1), and Brest (2-0); strikers Igor Jesus (4) and Arnaud Kalimuendo (3) top-scoring.

Despite the gaols during pre-season, the new campaign itself started off quite badly for Glasner’s charges – zero goals, back-to-back losses, and an early exit from the Carabao Cup, Forest twice losing at home to Leeds United, 1-0 and 2-0 respectively.

The first point of the Oliver Glasner reign was registered in an entertaining 2-2 draw at Anfield, Dan Ndoye opening the scoring midway through the first half, before Alexander Isak equalised on the hour for the hosts.

A Morgan Gibbs-White penalty with twenty minutes remaining saw visiting fans looking at a first three points, but hopes were dashed with eight minutes left when Victor Munoz equalised.

The game also saw six yellow cards dished out as Munoz, Florian Wirtz, ‘keeper Alisson, and Ronald Araujo (Liverpool) and Igor Jesus and Temitayo Aina (Forest) all found their way into referee Sam Barrott’s notebook.

Despite it ‘only’ being a draw, Forest are now unbeaten in their least three visits to Anfield, following this point up with a second, a week later, in a goalless draw at home to floundering Tottenham Hotspur at the start of September.

It was a game that could have, should have seen, a first league win in Nottingham for Glasner, but for Neco Williams’ second half effort being ruled out following an ‘inconclusive’ handball amidst some dodgy defending from visiting Spurs, and it remained goalless.

A first win of the season, and for Glasner in the Reds hotseat, finally arrived at the fourth time of asking in the league, when at Villa Park, home of Unai Emery’s Aston Villa, Forest’s tow, big money striker signings of recent times finally registering this campaign.

Both sides are undergoing something of a rebuild this season, Villa having lost a host of star names over the summer, and in this one, it would be the Reds who led on the stroke of half-time, Delap, the £50 million man, bagging his first goal since January.

Alysson equalised for the hosting Villains as the game headed into the final fifteen minutes, before Brazilian striker, Jesus, stabbed home what proved the winner for the Reds with two minutes left.

The hard work that had been put up in the previous three games in which the Reds had registered five points (and should have had more), was undone in their last outing against a Coventry City side who have been struggling to find their feet following a return to the top flight after some 25 years away.

Jay Dasilva netted the Sky Blues’ first of the season, and only goal of the game, ten minutes into the second half, before putting on a rearguard action to hold out for the points; having dominated much of the contest, the Reds failed to capitalise on any of their two dozen shots at the visiting goal, with but a handful being on target.

It was a result that, despite winning one and drawing two of their first five league games this season, sees Glasner’s Reds heading into the international break in the bottom ten of the Premier League, and just a couple of points off the bottom three.

When they return to league action, in mid-October, the Reds begin with a trip to Glasner’s old stomping ground, Selhurst Park, and Crystal Palace (11 October), before hosting the Premier League’s defending champions, Arsenal, a week later (18 October) – both games being played on a Sunday afternoon.

October concludes with back-to-back away games at Ipswich Town’s Portman Road (23^rd), and Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium (31^st) – hopefully a number of extra points will have been registered by then.

*Article provided by Peter Mann (Senior Correspondent).

*Main image @NFFC action during Forest’s home defeat v Coventry City.