Tenacious C

THE dictionary definition of tenacious: dogged; persistent; rententive; adhesive- all qualities Colin Calderwood has arguably failed to consistently drum into his Nottingham Forest side over a 22 month period.

But whilst the impending League One play-offs are set to decide his fate as Forest boss, a timely corner may now have been turned regarding his and the side’s tenacity to grind out results and succeed in the end of season showdown.

The 2-0 scalp at Tranmere and the 1-0 win over Luton signalled a Forest side far from at their best but still managing to grab three points-a habit they have yet to master since entering League One.

With automatic promotion now a surprising possibility entering the last two games, making the most of two below par showings could be a mentality that could be all important in the outcome of the Reds season.

And Calderwood admitted the style of the win at Tranmere could be a turning point in turning average performances into winning ones.

He said: “At Tranmere we scored with our first chance in the game and that made a world of difference in everyone’s perception of the performance because not that we didn’t come out in the first 30 minutes but we were second best in a lot of areas and were held together by the two centre halves and the goalkeeper on a lot of occasions.”

“The rest of team then got to grips with the game and played really well form there on in.”

“I was hoping Doncaster was going to be like that. Get absolutely battered and then score with Lewis’(McGugan) chance and you run away with the points.”

“But that is predominantly how I remember a lot of away games when I played and we haven’t had that too often this season but the rest of the game we were dominant and absorbed the early pressure which bodes well.”

He also indicated there was little fear factor in the side despite the disappointment of the play-offs last season.

He added: “The fear factor comes with success and the chance of the success and the team don’t look at the point of view of failure which is a great mindset to have.”