Forest's slow start raises questions but Glasner retains backing
Nottingham Forest have lost five of their opening eight games in all competitions, leaving them in the Premier League's relegation zone after an underwhelming start to the season. Oliver Glasner said he believes Nottingham Forest deserve more following their disappointing start to the season.
The run includes three straight defeats and came amid matches in which Forest were painfully close to better outcomes, wasting clear chances before losing at Crystal Palace and barely missing a point against champions Arsenal last Sunday. "It feels unfair but I don't want to be complaining and feeling as victims," Glasner said, offering a measured response to the early-season setbacks.
Club officials and players say there remains confidence in Glasner's methods and personality after his appointment in the summer following his exit from Crystal Palace. He was brought in to take Forest to the next level after lifting the FA Cup, Community Shield and Conference League with Palace, and has described owner Evangelos Marinakis as "the only person he has met with more ambition than him."
Glasner has warned expectations must be managed, saying he is "not a magician" and has already discussed previous slow starts with Marinakis. At Palace he won just one of his opening six games after replacing Roy Hodgson in February 2024 and did not win any of his first eight games in his first full season with the Eagles in 2024-25; that campaign ended with Palace beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final to end a 119-year wait for a first major trophy.
Forest's recent managerial turnover remains part of the club backdrop: Ange Postecoglou's 39-day reign ended after six defeats and no wins in eight games just over a year ago, Sean Dyche lasted a little over 100 days, and Vitor Pereira — who took Forest to the Europa League semi-finals and achieved top-flight survival — was sacked just two minutes before a termination clause expired in June.
Glasner's preferred starting XI is beginning to take shape, with Neco Williams, Matz Sels, Dan Ndoye, Murillo and James McAtee having started every league game. Morgan Gibbs-White would have also done so on Sunday but for a muscle injury; club captain Ryan Yates is yet to play a minute, Ibrahim Sangare has managed just one start despite signing a new three-year contract in the summer, Callum Hudson-Odoi's minutes have been limited and Ola Aina has lost his place to new wing-back Daniel Munoz.
Forest's attacking issues are stark in the numbers: they are yet to score in the Premier League at the City Ground this season, having netted just eight times in the league at home in 2026 and won only two of 17 home games since November. Overall this season Forest have scored five times but have a -6.20 xG, the worst in the division; they have had the third-highest number of shots in the Premier League with 120 (only behind Manchester United on 138 and Brighton on 125) but only 25 have been on target. Against Arsenal they had 14 shots with only two on target; Rory Delap's miss at Palace and Walter Benitez saving a close-range blast have been cited as examples of a lack of cutting edge, leaving Forest with a conversion rate of just 4.17% — the lowest in the division after Spurs rose to 6.06% following Monday's win over Coventry. Delap, signed for £50m this summer, earned praise from Glasner against Arsenal and was denied by Ezri Konsa's fine block in injury time. "Every team in the Premier League has the quality to come back into a game to score a goal," said Glasner. "When you play the champions, you don't have seven, eight or nine moments like we had at Palace. You have two or three or four, and if you don't take it, you have always the chance to lose the game." He added: "We are the only ones who can change it," he added. "I told the players this is a tough moment and in tough moments in life there's just one way to go through it, you need your family, you need your your friends and you need to stick together and stay positive "I'm very convinced that we will do this because I know the players and all the character of the players then we will get these scores, we will get the results."
Forest visit Ipswich Town on Friday, their next fixture as they seek to halt the poor run and translate belief in Glasner into positive results.
