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'I was saying what every Nottingham Forest fan thought - I did it for them'
Neco Williams wanted to speak out on behalf of Nottingham Forest fans when the Reds were on the receiving end of some controversial calls last season.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s men overcame a number of challenges on their way to securing a third successive year in the Premier League. Not only did they have a points deduction to contend with, they also felt hard done by over several questionable refereeing decisions.
The 2-0 defeat at Everton in April proved to be the final straw for Williams, after the visitors were left furious at having three penalty appeals waved away. In post-match comments, the Welshman fumed such calls were happening “every single week” and questioned whether it was because Forest were “a lower bottom half of the table team” rather than one of the “big six”.
Williams was subsequently hit with a £24,000 misconduct fine by the Football Association. But he has no regrets over voicing his opinion, indicating it was a sign of the spirit and togetherness at the club.
“I was saying what every Forest fan, or any football fan, would have said,” the defender told The Telegraph. “I did it for them.
“At the time it was a difficult situation where we were getting points deductions, not getting decisions we should have been getting and we were in a relegation battle. It felt like everyone was against us, but we managed to get through it.
“We took a few fines, the owner (Evangelos Marinakis), manager and players, but at the end of the day we were just speaking for what we thought was right and what we believed in. I can probably say that all the Forest fans think the same.
“The togetherness in this group is not just from the players. It is from the staff as well. The owners come into the training ground and we are chatting to them. The coaching staff are all together but it’s also the kitchen staff, sport science people. Everyone.
“We are all in this together. Nobody is hiding away. That is what helped us get through the difficult moments last season with the points deduction and decisions not going our way and it brought us closer together and we got through it and this season’s results shows our togetherness and how much that has helped us.”
Having secured survival, Forest are now competing at the opposite end of the table this time around as they look to kick on. They are fifth in the Premier League with 11 games gone.
“It is two seasons going through it so we know how tough the league is, how hard every opponent is,” Williams added. “Our aim wasn’t to be down there, it was to try to climb the table as high as possible and we are showing that to everyone and proving it. Our aim is not to look down but to look up and compete with these teams and establish ourselves hopefully as a top-half team.”
