Forest latest: Delap praised after Villa 'couldn't handle him'

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Oliver Glasner has told his Nottingham Forest players not to dwell on their struggles at home as they prepare to face Tottenham at the City Ground on Saturday.

Oliver Glasner has told his Nottingham Forest players not to dwell on their struggles at home as they prepare to face Tottenham at the City Ground on Saturday.

Forest have won only one of their last 12 Premier League matches on home turf, and began this campaign with back-to-back home defeats in the league and Carabao Cup before last weekend’s draw away to Liverpool.

Glasner is wary of his players becoming fixated on the need to reverse their struggles in front of their own fans.

> “Sometimes if you want it too much it goes the opposite way,” he said. “Play the best football we can play and then we have the best chance to get the win.

> “The most important thing is not to think about records too much in a positive or negative way. It can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

Forest will face a Spurs side yet to click despite an expensive summer of recruitment, with Roberto De Zerbi’s side having suffered league defeats to Brentford and Newcastle without scoring a goal.

> “They have many options,” Glasner said of Spurs. “They have invested massively in their squad and that makes it difficult to know who will probably start. On the other side, [Roberto] De Zerbi has a clear way he plays with his teams.

> “That makes it a little bit easier to prepare. The patterns are very obvious. He has a certain way of playing and I think we can see in some situations they are doing very well and in others not everything is settled. It takes time with new signings.”

Glasner happy with Forest window

Oliver Glasner has declared himself “very happy” with Nottingham Forest’s transfer business.

The £116m sale of Elliot Anderson to Manchester City funded moves for Ousmane Diomande, Liam Delap and Daniel Munoz, while Forest were able to move on or release several fringe players.

> “I’m very happy and very pleased with how the transfer window went,” Glasner said.

> “We wanted to reduce the number of players and also add quality players with top character. I think we achieved everything.”

Munoz joined from Crystal Palace for a reported £22million to be reunited with Glasner, although the Colombian remains short of full fitness after nose surgery, which has seen him sporting a mask in Palace’s opening match against Everton and in training since.

> “He is available,” Glasner said of the 30-year-old. “He arrived late after the World Cup and had a short pre-season. He played in a mask at Everton because he had surgery on his nose for his breathing.

> “That’s why he’s not had many minutes in pre-season and 55 minutes against Everton. He didn’t play against Manchester City because the negotiations were quite far along.

> “That’s why I say he needs to get back to his top fitness.”

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