There is a certain romance attached to the notion of repeating the feats of March 1996, when Nottingham Forest earned the opportunity to face a Bayern Munich side packed full of big names in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup.
But, while Forest fans might not appreciate it, now is the time for reality, rather than romance.
And the biggest question in the aftermath of a frustrating 1-0 defeat by Midtjylland was over whether it is now time for Vitor Pereira to prioritise the Premier League over the Europa League.
Frank Clark’s side forged some sepia-tinged memories when — even amid a heavy defeat over two legs — they faced a Bayern side that included world class players like Oliver Kahn, Jurgen Klinsmann, Jean-Pierre Papin and Lothar Matthaus three decades ago. Fans of a certain generation will always have Steve Chettle’s header in Munich.
But it is the challenge of ensuring they continue to mix among the elite company of the Premier League that increasingly feels as though it matters more than European football, regardless of how long they have had to wait for a return to that stage.
Their 23-year wait for a return to the top flight, prior to promotion in 2022, will have felt almost as long and, amid that, Forest became the first European Cup winning side to drop into the third tier of their domestic game.
Forest are fiercely proud of twice becoming the kings of Europe, back-to-back, under Brian Clough in 1979 and 1980. But even winning the Europa League now would not take the sting out of a return to the Championship in May. Relegation would be the biggest hammer blow this club has suffered in decades.
Forest may miss out on another Chettle moment by focusing on the Premier League (Photo: Laurence Griffiths/EMPICS via Getty Images)
And it has become a question of resources as much as anything else.
With the score at 1-0, Forest are not out of this tie, even against a Midtjylland side who have not lost at home all season, in three different competitions — while beating teams including Celtic, Genk and Dinamo Zagreb in the league phase of this competition there.
But having utilised all of his key figures — either in the starting line-up or off the bench — at the City Ground, Pereira’s challenge is to navigate a path through three huge games in the space of seven days and the physical and mental demands that will come with them.
Either side of the second leg in Denmark next Thursday, Fulham visit on Sunday, before a game against relegation rivals Tottenham in London on Sunday March 22.
Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson — the two men who scored the goals that earned Forest an encouraging, confidence boosting 2-2 draw at Manchester City in their last top flight fixture — both played every minute against Midtjylland.
“Look, the plan for this game was to make four substitutions around 60 minutes, if the game was in our favour. In the end, if I did what was my plan — to take off Elliot, Morgan, Igor (Jesus)… it would have been taking them from the pitch in the moment we needed to score,” said Pereira in his press conference, when asked if he would now prioritise the Premier League over Europe.
“They fight a lot, these players, to be in the Europa League and to fight in the Europa League. Now is the time to see. Because we have the game against Fulham and then the other game against them. We either move forward or we are out. Then we just have the Premier League. When we went to play against City, we thought it would be difficult to compete with their energy — but we did. I really believe that, in three days, we will compete again, to the level we need. After that, we will decide.”
This was the second time that Midtjylland have won at the City Ground this season, with Mike Tullberg’s side having triumphed 3-2 here in October, during the league phase of the competition, amid Ange Postecoglou’s brief, disastrous eight-game spell in charge.
Tullberg celebrates another win at the City Ground (Photo: Andrew Kearns – CameraSport via Getty Images)
“They were better players than last time we met them,” said Tullberg of Forest. “They had a better game. We know we are not through. With the players Forest have, they should not be playing against relegation.”
This was a different Forest performance and they would have won, if not for an all too familiar problem that has been an issue under all four managers to have occupied the home dugout since September — a critical lack of cutting edge.
Forest’s last four games at the City Ground have seen them amass 88 efforts on goal and have 126 touches in the opposition box — with an xG of 6.4 — while finding the net only once. Anderson, Jesus, Ola Aina and Omari Hutchinson were all denied by outstanding saves and the close to capacity crowd of 29,502 — which was bolstered by the late decision to cut ticket prices — again did not get to see the goal they craved.
And that is not the only issue Pereira must address before Sunday, with central defender Jair Cunha having suffered a foot injury that could prompt him to consider a change in formation, from a back three back to a back four.
“I must go and score myself,” joked Pereira. “No, we are working on finishing every day in training. I told my players to believe in themselves, to take shots, to put crosses in the box — we created a lot of things… In Fenerbahce we had five chances and scored three goals. Today, I do not know how many chances. But we were missing some detail every time. The way is to work, work, work, to give them the confidence to make the right decisions.”
The thought of repeating what Tottenham did last season, when they won this competition even amid a season of Premier League struggle, is an enticing one. If Forest can find a way to triumph in Midtjylland — based in a region of Denmark with a population of less than 100,000 — they would face Stuttgart or Porto in the quarter-finals.
But what increasingly feels more important is fending off the prospect of regular trips to Preston or Stoke, beyond that.