Chris Wood hailed by Nottingham Forest legend for helping Reds become 'stabilised' in Premier League
Stuart Pearce reckons Chris Wood’s goals have moulded Nottingham Forest into a ‘stabilised’ Premier League outfit.
New Zealand international Wood, 32, has netted four times in seven games this season to help propel Nuno Espírito Santo’s side up to tenth in the table.
That included a strike at Stamford Bridge in the Reds’ last outing before the international break to grab a point from a frantic 1-1 draw with Chelsea.
Wood is relishing his role as Forest’s ‘focal point’ while flanked by attacking players including Morgan Gibbs-White, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga.
And Forest legend Pearce, 62, believes that combination has helped the club become a ‘comfortable’ top-flight outfit ahead of Monday night’s clash against Crystal Palace.
“Chris Wood’s come in and been brilliant,” said Pearce, speaking as an ambassador of Pitching In around their Volunteer of the Season Award.
“He’s had to wait for his chance and been second fiddle on occasion, but he has led the line brilliantly for them.
“He’s a focal point that they can deliver the ball to both at his feet and in the air, and he’s got speed merchants in and around him.
“Hudson-Odoi on one flank and Elanga on the other, with Gibbs-White in the middle, who obviously broke into the England squad and is the first Nottingham Forest player to do so since me!
“They’ve probably stabilised in the Premier League now – they may have been shaky when they first came in but all of a sudden it looks a really stable outfit there and they’re delivering some good performance.
“They’ve got good attacking set plays and are good on the counter-attack, with four attacking-minded player that can hurt any team. They’ve all done really well.
“It’s brilliant to see and with the start they’ve had, they’ll be more than comfortable in the division. I expect them to finish somewhere in mid-table, comfortably.”
England legend Pearce also had a message for incoming boss Thomas Tuchel.
German Tuchel, 51, was unveiled as Gareth Southgate’s successor at Wembley earlier this week.
Pearce admits he would rather see an English boss at the wheel but is willing to get behind the Champions League-winning former Chelsea chief.
Pearce immersed himself in the England junior setup during his six years managing the Under-21s between 2007 and 2013.
And he urged self-proclaimed Anglophile Tuchel, who reflects fondly on his time at Chelsea and admits he loves the English game, to follow in those enthusiastic footsteps.
“I always saw my role at Under-21 level to go to all the younger age groups below me,” added Pearce, who was speaking at Pitching In Isthmian League side Cheshunt.
“I had the opportunity to take the senior team against Holland for one game and the night before, I got in my car and watched England Under-17s play.
“I did it because I wanted to do it – it was no publicity stunt, no one knew about it apart from the players but they could turn around and say the England national manager came to watch them play.
“I hope he takes a real interest in all the age groups – and everything the FA are trying to put in place to develop the next generation of coaches.
“That is all vitally important for our figurehead of our national game.”
Ladbrokes, with the support of its owner Entain, has launched a multi-million-pound investment programme, Pitching In, designed to support and promote grassroots sports. For more details see: https://www.entaingroup.com/sustainability-esg/entain-foundation/pitching-in/ and to f ind volunteering opportunities near you, see: pitchinginvolunteers.co.uk