Slow but steady

Picking up draws against Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur is certainly no time to panic. But it has to be something to build on

It goes without saying that there are no easy games in the Premier League. However, that does leave us wondering where Nottingham Forest’s first win comes from.

It’s much too early to be worrying about our position in the table — it might only be two points but a narrow loss and two draws we could've won aren't anything to despair about. But when you look ahead at the fixtures, we only have six games before it’s November.

Aston Villa (A) and Coventry City (H) await us in September before the international break, and then Crystal Palace (A), Arsenal (H), Ipswich Town (A) and Brentford (A) line up in October.

With no Europa League, and now no League Cup, to get in the way, Oliver Glasner and the squad can concentrate on the fixtures ahead — but would it be better for those games to be coming thick and fast?

A bit of momentum goes a long way and it feels like we’d rather be playing week-in, week-out to gain match fitness and fine tune Glasner’s tactics.

Saturday’s match against Tottenham Hotspur showed two sides looking a little rusty and struggling to find that cutting edge in front of goal — controversial VAR aside.

But Forest’s performance at Anfield the previous week proved that we can raise our game when required and the likes of James McAtee, Xaver Schlager and Jair Cunha are already proving to be first XI picks and not just squad players.

The last three games could’ve gone either way and the next three have that potential. Unai Emery’s misfiring Villa side have the potential to be dangerous but when will they break their duck? Is it time to avenge May’s Europa League semi-final defeat and win at Villa Park for the first time since 1994?

And when Coventry arrive, can the City Ground become the fortress it was during the season before last? That cauldron of noise and sense of inevitability needs to return if we’re going to have any building blocks for the season ahead.