'All of a sudden Nottingham Forest look like they can be a real force'

Stuart Pearce believes the sky is the limit for Nottingham Forest after a flying start to the season under Nuno Espirito Santo.

Forest have confounded pre-season expectations so far this season to sit seventh in the English Premier League, above the likes of Manchester United and Newcastle United. And City Ground legend Pearce - who won two League Cups and two Full Members Cups with Forest en route to 401 appearances for the club - believes the mood in the East Midlands is better than it has ever been.

“The direction is upwards, there’s no doubt about that,” said Pearce. “I think Steve Cooper’s played a big part in that, getting the team promoted, solid foundations and a lot of those players were there with Steve.

“On top of that, Nuno’s come in and pushed the club on a little bit further. Chris Wood is in the form of his life and the fanbase there, the atmosphere around the City Ground is as good as I’ve ever known. Back in my day we were winning trophies but I believe the atmosphere’s better now and the fans have played a big part in pushing the team and they look like a team that can do more than just survive in the Premier League.

“They offer a great brand of counter-attacking football and I think they can cause anybody a problem. I’ll be a bit disappointed if they don’t finish in the top half of the league this year. I think Nuno’s been around English football, he’s managed in this country, it’s not new to him and he’s a good coach with a good CV and to be fair, they’ve recruited well.

“Forest as a football club have had a lot of dormant years outside the Premier League. All of a sudden they look like they can be a real force.”

Pearce was speaking at Shefford Sports Ground, home of Shefford Town and Campton, where he helped launch the FA's 'Greener Game' campaign, a bespoke strategy created in collaboration with E.ON and designed to help the environment by promoting sustainability practices within the grassroots game.

A prime example of the FA's commitment to driving decarbonisation at clubs across the country, Shefford Sports Ground boasts solar panels installed to help reduce the club's energy bills and Pearce reckons such initiatives will only lead to a brighter future for the grassroots game.

He added: “My background was non-league football. I had five and a half years in non-league so these initiatives are very important to me. Anything it can do for the community and for sustainability and a greener world and more importantly for the health of youngsters to take part in a team game is important.

“When I was 16 I left school and I had nowhere to go play football so I got into my local non-league team and that gave me a platform to go into the pro game at the age of 21. It's vitally important that these initatives are there because without this level of football, you're not going to get the top end of the game either.

“The pyramid system is so vital and if we turn a blind eye to this level and don't put the facilities and funding into this level of football, you're not going to get the top end of the game or the next international. From my local non-league team, I ended up England captain. That's the power of it.”