Caretaker Gary Brazil praises Nottingham Forest young guns
Monday 1 January 2018 18:26, UK
Caretaker manager Gary Brazil praised his young Nottingham Forest side for how they acquitted themselves in the goalless draw away at Leeds.
In his third spell in temporary charge, the academy manager, played a number of his graduates as he looked to arrest the team's slide, which resulted in Mark Warburton being sacked on Sunday.
"I think in the circumstances of what has gone on at the football club in the last 24 hours, I couldn't ask for more from a group of players," Brazil said.
"I thought their attitude and application was first class and when we needed a little bit more we got it from our goalkeeper but, in general, I couldn't fault any of our players, I thought they showed a fantastic desire to want to represent the club in an appropriate manner and we got a worthy point."
Brazil was impressed how the defence and, especially, goalkeeper Jordan Smith coped with what Leeds threw at Forest on Monday.
"I didn't sense that there was going to be an issue with us keeping a clean sheet," he said.
"When they did get through, I thought Jordan made a fantastic save but he's been doing that for this football club all season and when we were limiting them to long-range shots, something got to go right in the top corner, so I am really proud how they've gone about it. Every man has shown a real professionalism and that's what we asked for before the game.
"They've shown a real desire to commit themselves to the football club and put in a performance and that's a really nice foundation to build on."
Six players who had progressed through the ranks at Forest featured in the game against Leeds, making it an especially proud day for the man who has nurtured the club's young talent for a number of years.
"The academy is well spoken about in terms of how it's producing young players and talented young players but they've got to be able to go out and compete at this level," Brazil said. "They now need to grow up and become men and some of the performances from those guys was of a man.
"They've got to grow but their performances show they've got an opportunity to play at this level, they've got to grasp it. I am sure there will be more players coming into this football club and they've got to fight to keep a Nottingham Forest shirt."
Despite the positive result at Elland Road, Brazil does not expect to be considered for the manager's position on a permanent basis.
He said: "It's very clear that I took the job on the basis I would help them out today, I'm here employed by the football club and I will do my best for the football club but I fully expect the club to move forward in a different direction."
