Where are you at with the squad and, you know, Nottingham Forest now, a decent bit of time in, where are you at in getting to know everyone and those nuances of chaos?

I don't know, but I'm learning every day and getting better understanding for the club, for the environment, and also for the players, because there are always some situations and then you see how players are reacting, how let's say the club is reacting, how the fans are reacting.

Sometimes, let's say we get it on the tough side, like after Coventry, you don't want to make this experience, but I think this experience, how players react, reacted to it how the fans reacted how the club reacted just gives me a great feedback yeah and this will help us in the future 100 percent and the same after the win at villa you're going to see again but the win after the first win there after 32 years and then you lose at home where everybody expected to win but that's also football and then i think that's why i'm always talking about stability we are not stable right now this club has no stability for many months I would say now or maybe you know it better for just in the last four years being in the Premier League so no consistency in the last decade and that's what we want to bring back and therefore I need all this or we all need these experiences to learn from it and get better.

I said last one can I do one more sneaky one Crystal Palace obviously will mean something it's a very different thing to you you know having very recently been there do you allow yourself to think about that does it cloud anything does it change the way you feel I guess it'd be nice to see some people at least

yes of course the preparation is like always we prepare a Premier League game and that's the same but yes emotionally it's It's different.

Spent more than two years there, very successful years.

And of course, when we leave, just winning the conference league, the celebration and then meeting many players again and all the staff and from the board.

Yes, it will be a very different feeling for me.

Why is the detail so important to you?

First of all, it's great to have you here.

I really enjoy this because I think I spoke to a few already.

I started my coaching career.

To be honest, I never wanted to become a manager.

My motivation was just to have spent more time with my oldest son at that time.

I was still a player in Austria.

ideas going on that journey through from grassroots to elite level you would have gone through different stages in your own development so what What are the key takeaways that you can share with us today?

Where, where are you at with, with things now? How do you feel about how, uh, you're shaping up and how ready you are for the season ahead?

I think we're on track, huh? So we had a pretty good, uh, preseason of course now with, with a very good, uh, last friendly here against Brest, where the behind closed door game was also a good performance, and the win and, under the midweek against Bayer Leverkusen.

So it's, uh, we can see many positive aspects we are working on.

We are, um, analyzing, we are telling the players, but on the other side we also can see still a lot of, uh, uh, work to do, but yeah, group is great, um, with a fantastic atmosphere, great mood at the training ground, and now we're looking forward, uh, to the Premier League start.

Yeah

... we say it in German, yeah.

And, and this just makes the players are more expensive.

So, yeah, we have, uh, uh, um, defined profiles.

[laughs]

So, um, we have to, to write our own book.

We have to write our own history.

And, um, number one is all getting consistency into this club and then, uh, building on a very good basement s- and going step by step forward.

Is, uh, also everybody has to, to accept that it's just the fifth season in the Premier League for Nottingham Forest after, I think, around 20 years in League One and the Championship.

So, uh, I honestly think that, uh, Forest has done a brilliant job in the last years, um, and that then now it's with consistency, with going step by step forward.

Uh, yeah, we want to establish in the top half of the Premier League, but we all know how challenging and how competitive the Premier League is, and this is what we also have to accept.

That's an exciting, uh, exciting month to look forward to for sure.

Would you describe yourself as a winner?

Maybe it's...

I prefer to win than to lose because life is so much better when you win.

Especially in sports and in football, it definitely affects the quality of your life, the weekend and that's why I'd say it's a bit selfish.

Winning is much better and of course on the other side it's not just winning because it's sports and you can lose.

I haven't seen a team that wins every single game.

I haven't seen a tennis player who wins every single game.

And just finally, what is the overall target for you this season? I know a lot of fans are already excited at the notion that you might be able to bring them European football again.

Which leads us on to that question about how do you want to play? What are Forest fans gonna expect from you and from your team?

Hopefully successful.

[laughs] That's the most important thing.

But, ah, I think it's, it's, it's the same Forest, uh, saw, uh, Palace playing here, and, and, and it's, it's not we don't copy what we have done there.

I still don't know, will we play a back three or a back four? I want to get the players known.

We want that the players play in their best position where they can show their best performances, and if this is with a back four, we will play a back four.

And if this is with a back three, we will play a back three.

We'll win trophies." And y- you know, you've gotta, I suppose, start again almost because you're at a new club.

Can you tell us about Eberechi, how you understand his brain, what he sees and feels, because he, he's capable of creating art.

I think first of all, we always want every single player that he plays with his strengths, and we, we want that every player feels comfortable on the pitch, yeah, and that everybody can express himself.

This is what you need to have confidence on the pitch, yeah, that you can show your strengths, your cr- your talent, yeah.

If, if somebody asks you to do something you can't really do well, so that you get lack of confidence, so, so we encourage every single player and then try to find the best formation, the best position on the pitch where he can express himself and show his strengths, and Eberechi, yes, he's a great dribbler, he has an amazing finish, so we want to get him into these situations.

Yes, defensively, he has to do his job for the team, but in attack, you know, it's, it's also giving him freedom and his creativity.

We ask him to do things and, and, and, but then he decides to do different thing, and that, and that's good, you know, the players have to take the decisions.

He is not a robot, he's a human being, and you need this freedom, you know, it's always to find the, the right balance between telling a player what he has to do, especially in attack, and also let his creativity and for me, creativity is more freedom, yeah, and structure maybe is the opposite of creativity, and then find the right balance.

You quote, "If you fear failing, then you will." How do you prepare your squad to forge that balance, Oliver, between belief and still treating this game as if it's just another game?

You know, was it something that Austrian football fans were aware of?

No, I've never seen an FA Cup final until now, to be honest.

So it's, uh, when I grew up, you know, we couldn't see it.

There was no internet, so I'm-

Yeah.

... a little bit older than most of