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There’s often a defining match, week or month in a season. A match – or series of games – that sets a course for success or failure. A time when it becomes clear what path a club will follow.
At the moment, however, it seems that any match, week or month could be pivotal for Nottingham Forest. Is this month, or week, the one that defines our season? You could argue that Sunday’s point against Fulham dragged us out of the relegation places – albeit on goal difference – and Thursday’s Europa League second leg against Midtjylland and Sunday’s clash with Tottenham Hotspur will chart our course.
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But we may well find ourselves at this juncture again very soon. Will there be a Europa League quarter-final to come? Will there be another chance for Premier League redemption? Not every game will be a ‘must win’ but there are times when it feels that way.
As grim as this relegation battle is, there are still three – maybe four – clubs fighting to stay up. And it’s going to drag. Make no mistake, we could be facing another six or seven weeks of season-defining moments. Making predictions, deciding our fate and writing us off is still all in the future – because it’s impossible to call.
There is evidently fear among the players. You can sense the trepidation. In every misplaced pass, every hesitant moment, every 50-50 decision. We all know the quality of this squad, but lack of confidence is precisely why we’re where we are. Last season we had confidence in abundance – we knew we could win games.
The fine margins of recent weeks may well continue – the shots hitting the crossbar, the offside decisions, the whims of the referee. Maybe those moments will define our season? Or maybe we’ll break the spell and start finishing our endless chances? If the goals come, the confidence might return.
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It’s never over until it’s over. By Sunday we might feel a corner has been turned. Perhaps that corner is yet to come. Maybe it never comes. But it might be that the defining moment is only obvious long after the event.
Find more from Pat Riddell at The Famous Club